Chest irradiation as an attempt to improve the response after induction chemotherapy in small cell lung carcinoma

Forty-six patients with small cell lung carcinoma received cyclic chemotherapy with cisplatin-VP 16 and vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. The responding patients were given prophylactic cranial irradiation. Patients without metastases not achieving a complete response (CR) following induction chemotherapy were given chest irradiation. The response rate was 73.9 per cent. Response was improved by radiation therapy in only 9 per cent of the patients with limited disease. Median survival was 39 weeks, with 2 patients surviving for longer than 24 months. The duration of response and survival in complete and partial responders was similar; absence of radiation therapy in the patients with CR might explain this finding.