Case report: oat cell cancer and renal failure

A 55-year-old woman on chronic hemodialysis was treated for small-cell lung cancer and associated symptoms of a paraneoplastic syndrome. Partial remission with an antineoplastic agent, an antineoplastic antibiotic, and vincristine was achieved. When the tumor advanced, carboplatin and etoposide resulted in a complete remission. Marked symptomatic improvement occurred with minimal side effects. Such examples indicate that carefully selected patients with renal failure may respond to chemotherapy and an improved quality of life.