[Surgical treatment of small-cell pulmonary carcinoma]

Based on their longstanding experience of a department with surgical treatment of small-cell carcinoma of the lungs, the authors give an account of their experience. During the five-year period (1988-1992), when also patients in the third stage of the disease were operated, the authors followed up the survival after operation in relation to the presence or absence of N2. During the above period 31 patients were operated on account of small-cell carcinoma. This number comprised 9 patients in stage I and II, 14 patients in stage III, and in 8 patients on account of the advanced stage of the disease explorative thoracotomy was performed. Although the patient groups during the mentioned period were not large, the results are comparable with those of other, larger investigations. Patients operated in stages without tumourous affection of the mediastinal lymph nodes survived resection of the lungs supplemented by adjuvant chemotherapy significantly longer than patients with N2 affections and a similar therapeutic procedure. Based on the achieved results the authors do not recommend resection of the lungs in the IIIrd stage of the disease as the primary or as an adjuvant therapeutic modality.