What Are the Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer?

This content has been reviewed and approved by

Chandra P. Belani, MD
Deputy Director, Penn State Cancer Institute
Miriam Beckner Professor of Medicine
Penn State University School of Medicine

Stages of cancer relate to how far the cancer has spread in your body. These stages are important to determining the type of treatment you will receive.

The stages of small cell lung cancer are different than for non-small cell lung cancer. A simple staging system is used to separate small cell lung cancer into two stages. The stages are:

• Limited
• Extensive

Limited and extensive stages are treated differently. Your oncologist will perform a variety of tests to determine the stage of the disease. This will help in choosing the best treatment. The tests will look for cancer in your bones, abdomen, brain, and bone marrow.

If no cancer is found outside your hemithorax, then you will be diagnosed with limited stage small cell lung cancer (provided it can be encompassed in a radiation port). Otherwise, you will be diagnosed with extensive disease. In many cases, the metastases cannot be detected, and thus accurate staging is of utmost importance.