Treatment overview for small cell lung cancer

Your doctors will take a number of factors into account when advising you on the best course of action, including your age, general health, the type and size of the tumour, and whether it has begun to spread.

Chemotherapy |is the main treatment for people with small cell lung cancer.

Radiotherapy| may sometimes be given after the chemotherapy has finished. Sometimes chemotherapy and radiotherapy are given at the same time; this is known as chemoradiation.   

Surgery |is usually only used to treat people with small cell lung cancer if the cancer is found very early. This is because the cancer has usually spread to other parts of the body before being diagnosed, even if it can’t be seen on a scan.

If an operation is possible, chemotherapy may be given after surgery to help reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. Giving treatment in this way is called adjuvant treatment.

The scans and tests used to diagnose the cancer may be repeated later, to see how you're responding to treatment.

Small cell lung cancer can sometimes spread to the brain. A type of radiotherapy called prophylactic cranial radiotherapy may be given to the head to reduce the risk of this happening. It may be given to people with small cell lung cancer if chemotherapy to treat the lung tumour has worked very well or if they have had surgery to remove the tumour.

Radiotherapy may also be used in people with advanced small cell lung cancer, to relieve symptoms such as pain.