Survival in small cell lung carcinoma after surgery

In a retrospective study of long term survival in patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung who had been treated purely by surgery, 1820 patients with lung cancer seen during the 15 years 1962-77 were reviewed and reclassified histologically and according to the TNM system. Of these patients, 924 had had resections and 284 exploratory thoracotomies. Cancer chemotherapy was not used in this period and radiotherapy was given only occasionally as palliative treatment. Seventy seven of the patients having pulmonary resections had small cell carcinoma (8.4%), and there were six survivors among the 71 with T1-2, N0-1, M0 tumours. The five and 10 year survival rates were both 12%. The histological specimens from these six patients with a small cell carcinoma who survived more than 10 years were re-evaluated and confirmed as small cell by an independent group of pathologists. It seems justified to conclude that a selected group of patients with small cell carcinoma should be treated by surgery alone without adjuvant chemotherapy, which might reduce the long term survival.