Multidisciplinary treatment for small cell carcinoma of the lung

Forty patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung in the past 6 years and 8 months from May 1975 to January 1982 have been treated with combination treatment regimens of radiotherapy and chemotharpy. The patients were designed to receive four or five drugs combination in the chemotherapeutic agents of Mitomycin C, Vincristine, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide and Methotrexate, and to have radiotherapy to the primary inculding the mediastinum and the both supraclavicular areas. Prophylactic irradiation to whole brain was added only to the patients with limited disease. The response rate was 85% for all patients treated with the treatment regimen I and II. The complete response rate was 35% with a median survival time of 13 months and 2 years survival rate of 25%. The partial response rate was 50% with a median survival time of 7 months and 2 years survival rate of 6%. Six patients who did not respond to those treatment regimens showed a median survival time of only 2 months and one year survival rate of 0%. The 2 years survival rate and median survival time were 37.5% and 10 months for stage I, 12.5% and 7 months for stage II, 0% and 7 months for stage III, and 0% and 3 months for stage IV. There was no patient surviving over 3 years with a 2 years survival rate of 12.5% and a median survival time of 7 months for all patients. In the 5 patients with limited disease treated with the treatment regimen II, one patient with partial response died within 6 months, while 4 patients had complete response and survived more than one year. As a results of this study, it was considered that the good treatment results were obtained in the patients with earlier stage or having better response rate. (author)