How is relapsed small cell lung cancer treated?
Many of the same issues that affected treatment during your initial (or first-line) cancer therapy will be considered again when planning treatment for relapsed disease. Small cell lung cancer grows very quickly and can spread (or metastasize) to other parts of the body, including the bones, brain, liver, and lymph nodes. Treatment of recurrent disease is intended to slow or stop the growth of cancer in the lung as well as other parts of the body where the disease has spread. Second-line treatment of small cell lung cancer may include chemotherapy drugs that were not used in the initial treatment plan. Radiation therapy may also be used to help shrink or destroy tumors in the lung or elsewhere in the body and to help control symptoms.
