1982 Volume 22 Issue 4 Pages 459-466
We analyzed 204 resected cases of small cell carcinoma of the lung treated at 7 major Japanese institutions.
The male to female ratio was 5: 1. The patients were histologically classified into 3 subtypes: oat cell type in 53 patients (26%), intermediate cell type in 113 patients (55.4%) and others (combined small cell ca.) in 29 patients (14.2%). Of 204 patients, 62.7% were peripheral type and 37.3% central type. The survival rate in patients with surgical resection was 50.7% at 1 year, 31.1% at 2 years, 23.6% at 3 years, and 15.1% at 5 years by the life table method. The operative mortality was 4.4%. The survival according to subtype was the poorest in patients with oat cell type compared to those with intermediate cell type and other types (10% as opposed to 16% and 30% at 5 years).
Oat cell type cases were usually much more advanced than cases of other subtypes. And it seems that the survival curve in oat cell type is worse than in the other types.
The survival rate according to postoperative adjuvant therapy was the best in patients with resection plus chemotherapy. According to the chronological period the survival curve was significantly better in patients treated after 1975 than those before1974.
It is concluded that resection is indicated in stage I or II patients. We recommended resection for small cell carcinoma only if all of the lesion can be excised cleanly, and such cases should be treated with intensive chemotherapy after operation. (This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Cancer Research (55-2) from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.)
