Small cell carcinoma of the lung surgery
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Small Cell Carcinoma of the Lung Microchapters |
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Differentiating Small Cell Carcinoma of the Lung from other Diseases |
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Small cell carcinoma of the lung surgery On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Small cell carcinoma of the lung surgery |
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Directions to Hospitals Treating Small cell carcinoma of the lung |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Small cell carcinoma of the lung surgery |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Rim Halaby, M.D. [2]
Overview
In small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL), surgery should only be considered among patients with clinical stage I (T1-2, N0). Postoperative chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy is recommended based on the presence or absence of lymph node involvement.
Surgery
- Surgery should only be considered among patients with clinical stage I (T1-2, N0). Given that the majority of patients are not diagnosed with clinical stage I (T1-2, N0), surgery is rarely performed among SCCL patients.
- Before a patient is considered for surgical resection of the tumor, investigation for occult nodal involvement by either mediastinoscopy or mediastinal node dissection should be performed.
- Post-operative palliative treatment following surgery includes:
- Chemotherapy if there is no nodal involvement
- Chemotherapy PLUS radiation therapy if there is nodal involvement
- Prophylactic cranial irradiation is recommended among patients who underwent complete resection of the tumor if their performance status is good and if they do not have any neurological cognitive impairment.