Relevance of an incidental chest finding

Solitary pulmonary nodule represents 0.2% of incidental findings in routine chest X-ray images. One of the main diagnoses includes lung cancer in which small-cell subtype has a poor survival rate. Recently, a new classification has been proposed including the very limited disease stage (VLD stage) or T1-T2N0M0 with better survival rate, specifically in those patients who are treated with surgery. However, current recommendations postulate that surgery remains controversial as a first-line treatment in this stage. We present the case of a 46-year-old female referred to our hospital with a preoperative diagnosis of a solitary pulmonary nodule. On initial approach, a biopsy revealed a small cell lung cancer. She received multimodal therapy with surgery, chemotherapy, and prophylactic cranial irradiation and is currently alive without recurrence on a 2-year follow-up.