[Preoperative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy of small cell bronchial cancer]

The high rate of locally delimited recurrences of parvicellular bronchial carcinoma, following chemotherapy and complete remission, primarily in cases of limited disease, prompted the authors to apply preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy to seven patients. Four of them were without tumours for six to 72 months from treatment. One patient died of myocardial infarction but with no tumour detectable 15 months after treatment. Locally delimited recurrence with additional lymphogenic spreading was recorded from one patient only. Two patients died of haematogenic metastasation. The concept should be tested for efficiency on larger groups of patients.