Chemotherapy remains the mainstay of
treatment for patients diagnosed with SCLC
because it is an active, fast-growing type of
cancer that is chemosensitive. Even when the
cancer is thought to be confined to the chest
(limited stage disease), people with SCLC are
rarely offered surgery because the nature of the
disease means that cells too small to be detected
through imaging may have already broken away
from the primary tumour and started to travel
to other organs. However, NICE (2011) suggest
that surgery should be considered in patients
with a T1-2a N0 tumour who are assessed as
being fit to undergo major surgery. A T1-2a
N0 tumour in the lung is less than 5cm at its
widest point, may involve the main bronchus at
least 2cm from the main carina, may invade the
visceral pleura or have some associated collapse
of part of the lung. There is no evidence of any
lymph node involvement or distant metastases.
Chemotherapy circulates in the bloodstream
and so is able to treat cancer cells wherever they are in the body. It can be given via a number
of routes, however chemotherapy used to treat
lung cancer is administered either orally or
intravenously on an outpatient basis.