Treatment of Recurrent Small Cell Lung Cancer
When lung cancer has been detected or has returned following an initial treatment with surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy, it is referred to as "recurrent" or "relapsed."
A variety of factors ultimately influence a patient's decision to receive treatment of cancer. The purpose of receiving cancer treatment may be to improve symptoms through local control of the cancer, increase a patient's chance of cure, or prolong a patient's survival. The potential benefits of receiving cancer treatment must be carefully balanced with the potential risks of receiving cancer treatment.
The following is a general overview of the treatment of recurrent small cell lung cancer. Circumstances unique to your situation and prognostic factors of your cancer may ultimately influence how these general treatment principles are applied. The information on this website is intended to help educate you about your treatment options and to facilitate a mutual or shared decision-making process with your treating cancer physician.
Most new treatments are developed in clinical trials. Clinical trials are studies that evaluate the effectiveness of new drugs or treatment strategies. The development of more effective cancer treatments requires that new and innovative therapies be evaluated with cancer patients. Participation in a clinical trial may offer access to better treatments and advance the existing knowledge about treatment of this cancer. Clinical trials are available for most stages of cancer. Patients who are interested in participating in a clinical trial should discuss the risks and benefits of clinical trials with their physician. To ensure that you are receiving the optimal treatment of your cancer, it is important to stay informed and follow the cancer news in order to learn about new treatments and the results of clinical trials.
Historically, patients experiencing a recurrence of small cell lung cancer have had few treatment options. Recently, several newer chemotherapeutic drugs have demonstrated a substantial ability to kill small cell lung cancer cells in patients with recurrent cancer. Developing and exploring single or multi-agent chemotherapy agents as a treatment approach for patients with recurrent or relapsed small cell lung cancer is an area of active investigation. In particular, the chemotherapy compound Camptosar® appears promising, with approximately 40 percent of patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer experiencing shrinkage of their tumor and achieving improved duration of their life following diagnosis of recurrence. It is likely that several other newer drugs used alone or in combination can produce similar results.
Research is in progress to refine existing treatments and develop new ones. For information on some of the techniques currently under investigation, see Strategies to Improve Treatment.
This content was last reviewed
August 15, 2010 by Dr. Reshma L. Mahtani.