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Current Oncology Reports
Published in: Current Oncology Reports 4/2013

01-08-2013 | Lung Cancer (T Mekhail, Section Editor)

The Role of Radiation Therapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer

Author: Gregory M. M. Videtic

Published in: Current Oncology Reports | Issue 4/2013

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Abstract

Radiotherapy (RT) is fundamental to the care of patients diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). In the setting of limited stage disease (LS-SCLC), the addition of thoracic RT to chemotherapy (CHT) improves survival and local control, as demonstrated in decades-worth of randomized clinical trials and subsequent meta-analyses. In extensive stage disease (ES-SCLC), thoracic RT is invaluable in the palliation of chest symptoms but there are suggestions that its use in selected patients may potentially improve overall survival . Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) also improves outcomes in SCLC. For LS-SCLC patients, it reduces brain metastases rates by half and improves overall survival with minimal impact on quality-of-life. Recently, favorable results for PCI with respect to survival and prevention of symptomatic brain disease have been observed for ES-SCLC patients with any response to CHT. Current phase III trials in SCLC RT include studies looking at the optimal dose and target for limited disease and the role of thoracic RT in extensive disease.
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Metadata
Title
The Role of Radiation Therapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer
Author
Gregory M. M. Videtic
Publication date
01-08-2013
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Oncology Reports / Issue 4/2013
Print ISSN: 1523-3790
Electronic ISSN: 1534-6269
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-013-0318-4

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