Survival Following Multimodality Treatment Including Surgery for Stage IA–IIIB Small-Cell Lung Cancer

To evaluate the benefit of multimodality treatment for patients with limited disease small-cell lung cancer, Weckler and colleagues retrospectively reviewed outcomes for 47 patients treated at their institution between 1999 and 2016. Patients had undergone primary tumor resection and systematic lymph node dissection combined with chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, or thoracic radiotherapy, and all patients were treated with curative intent. Overall median survival was 56 months, and R0 resection was the only significant prognostic factor for survival. The authors conclude that multimodality treatment was safe, and that R0 resection was achievable with a low risk of locoregional relapse.