A retrospective comparative study of surgery followed by chemotherapy vs. non-surgical management in limited-disease small cell lung cancer.

Objective: The role of surgery in limited SCLC is still a matter of controversy. Even though the response rates to chemotherapy are very high, prognosis of SCLC patients has remained poor with a median survival of only 12-14 months for limited disease. High incidence of local relapses after chemotherapy in limited-stage SCLC led to reassessment of the role of local treatment in the multimodality management of this tumor.

Standard versus intensified chemotherapy with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support in small-cell lung cancer: a prospective European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Lung Cancer Group Phase III Trial-08923.

Purpose: To assess the impact on survival of increasing dose-intensity (DI) of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and etoposide (CDE) in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Patients And Methods: Previously untreated SCLC patients were randomized to standard CDE (cyclophosphamide 1,000 mg/m(2) and doxorubicin 45 mg/m(2) on day 1, and etoposide 100 mg/m(2) on days 1 to 3 every 3 weeks, for five cycles) or intensified CDE (cyclophosphamide 1,250 mg/m(2) and doxorubicin 55 mg/m(2) on day 1, and etoposide 125 mg/m(2) on days 1 to 3 with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF] 5 micro g/kg/d on days 4 to 13 every 2 weeks, for four cycles). Projected cumulative dose was almost identical on the two arms, whereas projected DI was nearly 90% higher on the intensified arm.