Small cell carcinoma of lung: a prospective clinical study

Seventeen patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung diagnosed on sputum cytology, bronchial biopsy/aspirate or lymph node biopsy, were prospectively followed up for 33 months. Four patients who had no or inadequate treatment survived an average of 10.5 months. Ten treated patients survived 10.6 months. Three patients are still alive receiving chemotherapy with no local irradiation. All patients were Chinese; all smoked cigarettes; two patients were women; all patients were older than 50 years. Four patients had no chest complaints but presented with Superior Vena Caval obstruction (two cases), dermatomyositis and the Eaton Lambert syndrome. Two patients had the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion. None was hypercalcaemic. Twelve patients had right sided lung lesions. The majority of patients underwent combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the latter consisting of three weekly cyclical methotrexate, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide and CCNU (MACC regime).