Does small cell lung cancer have a high mortality rate?

Is the mortality rate of small cell lung cancer high? Living conditions have improved a lot, but the types of diseases are also increasing. Many people die from small cell lung cancer, so people are very afraid of this disease. Let's find out whether the mortality rate of small cell lung cancer is high.

Smoking is the main risk factor for small cell lung cancer, and SCLC is closely related to smoking. According to a summary analysis of smoking and lung cancer worldwide from 1970 to 1999, lung cancer is positively correlated with smoking intensity (amount of smoking) and duration, and the relationship with SCLC is most obvious. Early treatment can still reduce the chance of death, so timely examination and treatment are necessary when it is discovered.

The treatment of small cell lung cancer is mainly chemotherapy, which can be combined or sequentially with radiotherapy. For less than 5% of early-stage patients whose disease is limited to the lung parenchyma, surgical treatment is considered. Limited-stage SCLC is mainly treated with synchronous chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy and radiotherapy sequentially. Synchronous chemoradiotherapy is better than sequential treatment. Synchronous chemoradiotherapy should be performed as early as possible, and preventive whole-brain radiotherapy should be given. Preventive whole-brain radiotherapy has significant benefits for survival. Extensive-stage SCLC is mainly treated with chemotherapy, and local or metastatic lesions are treated at an elective time.

Surgery

Patients with TNM stage T1-2N0M0 confirmed by mediastinoscopy or surgical staging can undergo surgical resection. Even patients who achieve complete resection still need chemotherapy after surgery.

Drug treatment

Before 2000, several phase III clinical studies conducted in patients with extensive-stage SCLC confirmed the advantages of EP regimen, CAV regimen, etc. in prolonging survival compared with single drugs. Currently, the recommended first-line chemotherapy regimen is mainly combined chemotherapy, as follows:

EP regimen: etoposide combined with cisplatin.

CAV regimen: cyclophosphamide (CTX) + doxorubicin (ADM) + vincristine (VCR)1.

After the first-line treatment, topotecan, taxanes, and amrubicin can be considered.