Role of surgery in small cell lung cancer

Conventional treatment for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is currently thoracic radiation and combination chemotherapy, and surgery has been traditionally stated to have little to no role in disease management. However, a growing body of literature suggests that early-stage SCLC may be more amenable to local control following resection, with surgery being an important component of multimodality therapy. This article attempts to summarize what is currently known about early-stage SCLC, and outlines the methods by which this controversy is actively being investigated.