Surgical Treatment in Small Cell Lung Cancer: Delayed Evaluation?

Abstract

Lung cancers are the most common solid organ cancers and are responsible for a major part of cancer deaths. They account for 1/3 or 1/4 of all deaths from cancer. Small cell lung cancers (SCLC) are known for having very poor outcomes in survival analyses, despite multiple treatment applications. Even though the traditional literature claims that treatment of this disease is essentially medical, surgical experiences do not confirm such claim. In this study, we examined whether small cell lung cancer is a non-surgical disease as it is believed to be. The medical literature in the thoracic and cardiovascular surgery and oncology network was reviewed, and studies, cases, and meta-analysis articles that provided small cell lung cancer treatment outcomes were examined. A discussion was made by also analyzing the survival data in the light of the available guidelines. It is seen that treatment of small cell lung cancer is not mainly medical and that the surgical option can be administered similarly to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, even the targeted treatment options do not provide recovery at a satisfactory level in the current state of cancer treatment. Surgery option keeps it validity as the most important weapon against all stages and cell types in lung cancer.