How is small cell lung cancer treated?
Small cell lung cancer may spread quickly. To be sure that treatment affects all cancer cells in the body, chemotherapy is used in virtually all patients, even when the disease appears to be limited to the lung and nearby lymph nodes. Usually, chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer includes a combination of two or more anticancer drugs. When the disease appears clinically limited to the lung, treatment also includes radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is also used to treat the brain, even without evidence of cancer, to prevent tumors from forming there; this treatment is reserved for patients whose lung tumor has responded well to treatment. Surgery combined with chemotherapy can also be part of the treatment plan for small cell lung cancer, but only for a small number of patients. Because of the proven association of cigarette smoking with the development of lung cancer, the best form of treatment is prevention. If people do not smoke or stop smoking, their chances of getting lung c
