Survival and Prognostic Factors in Limited-stage Small-cell Lung Cancer.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the factors affecting overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with limited stage-small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). STUDY DESIGN Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Prof. Dr. Cemil Tascioglu City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey from January 2002 to October 2019. METHODOLOGY Data of 89 patients was analysed, who were treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for LS-SCLC, of whom some had also received prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI). The clinical course and survival rates of LS-SCLS patients treated with different treatment modalities, were evaluated and the prognostic factors were analysed by Cox-regression analysis. RESULTS The median age of the patients was 59.6 (39 - 83) years-old; 82% were men. The median follow-up duration was 20 (1 - 189) months. The median PFS and OS were 16 (95% CI, 13-18) months and 33 (95% CI, 25-41) months. Patients, who underwent PCI had better OS compared to patients who did not [54 (95% CI, 27-87) months vs. 19 (95% Cl,, 13-25) months, log-rank, p = 0.004]. Grade 3-4 hematologic toxicities were observed in 12 (13.5%) patients and grade 3-4 esophagitis was observed in 25 (28.1%) patients. Younger age, ECOG 0-1, stage I-II disease, complete response to CRT were good prognostic factors on OS and PFS. A complete response to  CRT was also a good independent factor in terms of PFS and OS. CONCLUSION In this study, younger age, better ECOG status, stage I-II disease, and complete response to CRT had a favourable impact on OS and PFS in LS-SCLC. In addition, PCI has been shown to increase survival in these patients. Key Words: Limited-stage, Small-cell lung cancer, Thoracic radiotherapy, Chemoradiotherapy.