Surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy for small cell carcinoma

Long-term Survival After Surgery Compared With Concurrent Chemoradiation for Node-negative Small Cell Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy offers a survival advantage over concurrent chemoradiation for patients with cT1-2N0M0 small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

BACKGROUND

Although surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy is the recommended treatment for patients with cT1-2N0M0 SCLC per international guidelines, there have been no prospective or retrospective studies evaluating the impact of surgery versus optimal medical management for cT1-2N0M0 SCLC.

METHODS

Outcomes of patients with cT1-2N0M0 SCLC who underwent surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy or concurrent chemoradiation in the National Cancer Data Base (2003-2011) were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards analyses and propensity-score-matched analyses.

RESULTS

During the study period, 681 (30%) patients underwent surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy and 1620 (70%) underwent concurrent chemoradiation. After propensity-score matching, all 14 covariates were well balanced between the surgery (n = 501) and concurrent chemoradiation (n = 501) groups. Surgery was associated with a higher overall survival (OS) than concurrent chemoradiation (5-year OS 47.6% vs 29.8%, P < 0.01). To minimize selection bias due to comorbidities, we limited the propensity-matched analysis to 492 patients with no comorbidities; surgery remained associated with a higher OS than concurrent chemoradiation (5-year OS 49.2% vs 32.5%, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

In a national analysis, surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy was used in the minority of patients for early stage SCLC. Surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy for node-negative SCLC was associated with improved long-term survival when compared to concurrent chemoradiation. These results suggest a significant underuse of surgery among patients with early stage SCLC and support an increased role of surgery in multimodality therapy for cT1-2N0M0 SCLC.

Survival Outcomes for Patients with Surgical and Non-Surgical Treatments in Stages I-III Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Objectives: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the standard treatments for patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, recent studies suggest that patients with limited stage (I-III) SCLC may benefit from surgical treatment. This study was performed to evaluate the survival outcomes of surgery for stage I-III SCLC.

Methods: This analysis used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. All stage I-III (excluding N3 and Nx) SCLC patients received a diagnosis between 2004 and 2014. Overall survival (OS) and lung cancer-specific survival (LCSS) were determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using the log-rank test. A Cox proportional hazard model identified relevant survival variables.

Results: A total of 4,780 histologically confirmed patients were identified from the SEER database, comprising 1,018 patients (21.3%) with stage I disease; 295 (6.2%) with stage II; and 3,467 (72.5%) with stage III disease. Among all of the patients, 520 had been treated with surgery, the majority (n = 344; 66.2%) of whom had stage I disease. The hazard ratio (HR) for OS and LCSS, in patients who underwent surgery, according to stage were as follows: OS, 0.369 and LCSS, 0.335 in stage I; OS, 0.549 and LCSS, 0.506 in stage II; and OS, 0.477 and LCSS, 0.456 in stage III (all p < 0.001). Patients who underwent surgery had significantly better OS, and lobectomy was associated with the best outcome.

Conclusions: Surgical resection was associated with significantly improved OS outcomes and should be considered in the management of stage I-III SCLC.

Treatment of small cell lung cancer: Diagnosis and management of lung cancer, 3rd ed: American College of Chest Physicians evidence-based clinical practice guidelines

BACKGROUND

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a lethal disease for which there have been only small advances in diagnosis and treatment in the past decade. Our goal was to revise the evidence-based guidelines on staging and best available treatment options.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search covering 2004 to 2011 was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, and five Cochrane databases using SCLC terms. This was cross-checked with the authors' own literature searches and knowledge of the literature. Results were limited to research in humans and articles written in English.

RESULTS

The staging classification should include both the old Veterans Administration staging classification of limited stage (LS) and extensive stage (ES), as well as the new seventh edition American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union Against Cancer staging by TNM. The use of PET scanning is likely to improve the accuracy of staging. Surgery is indicated for carefully selected stage I SCLC. LS disease should be treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with good performance status. Thoracic radiotherapy should be administered early in the course of treatment, preferably beginning with cycle 1 or 2 of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy should consist of four cycles of a platinum agent and etoposide. ES disease should be treated primarily with chemotherapy consisting of a platinum agent plus etoposide or irinotecan. Prophylactic cranial irradiation prolongs survival in those individuals with both LS and ES disease who achieve a complete or partial response to initial therapy. To date, no molecularly targeted therapy agent has demonstrated proven efficacy against SCLC.

CONCLUSION

Evidence-based guidelines are provided for the staging and treatment of SCLC. LS-SCLC is treated with curative intent with 20% to 25% 5-year survival. ES-SCLC is initially responsive to standard treatment, but almost always relapses, with virtually no patients surviving for 5 years. Targeted therapies have no proven efficacy against SCLC.

Klotho predicts good clinical outcome in patients with limited-disease small cell lung cancer who received surgery

BACKGROUND

The important role of surgery in early-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has been recognized, and curative surgical resection is recommended. However, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage I SCLC has not yet been evaluated, and novel approaches focusing on the specific genomic characteristics of SCLC may be invaluable for customized therapy. In this study, we focused on the Klotho gene, which is an anti-aging gene known to be a potential tumor suppressor. We investigated whether the expression of Klotho, assessed by immunohistochemistry, can predict survival in patients with resected SCLC.

METHODS

The medical records of patients diagnosed as having limited-disease (LD) SCLC and treated by surgical resection (n=30) at Tokyo Medical University Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The expression status of Klotho, and of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters MRP1, MDR and breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP), which can cause resistance to anticancer drugs, including irinotecan, was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis in resected surgical specimens of patients with early-stage SCLC.

RESULTS

Of the 30 patients, Klotho expression was seen in the specimens from 18 patients (60.0%), but not in those of the remaining 12 patients (40.0%). The immunostaining for Klotho was mostly localized in the cytoplasm. The expression of Klotho was significantly associated with the overall survival (OS) (ratio 0.088; 95% confidence interval 0.019-0.409; P=0.002). The administration of perioperative chemotherapy had no significant effect in improving the survival, as assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. However, the patients showing Klotho expression in the resected specimens in p-stage I and II, may have benefited from perioperative chemotherapy. A multivariate analysis revealed no significant association between the expression status of MRP1, MDR or BCRP and the OS.

CONCLUSION

Expression of Klotho was predictive of a favorable outcome following resection in limited-disease SCLC patients, and the Klotho expression status may serve as a new biomarker for the need of additional therapies to be developed in the future.

Surveillance epidemiology and end results evaluation of the role of surgery for stage I small cell lung cancer

INTRODUCTION

This study was performed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of surgery for stage I small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

METHODS

The National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was analyzed to evaluate outcomes for patients with SCLC treated from 1988 to 2004. Patients with stage I disease were selected. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed for overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival for patient strata based on type of surgery and radiation use or nonuse. Although SEER does not provide chemotherapy details, it is assumed that most, if not all, of these patients received systemic therapy.

RESULTS

A total of 1560 patients were identified as having stage I SCLC. Median age was 70 years (range 27-94 years). Two hundred forty-seven patients underwent lobectomy, 121 had local tumor excision/ablation, 10 had a pneumonectomy, and surgery was unknown in 21. One thousand one hundred sixty-one did not have any cancer-directed surgery. Of those who had lobectomy, 205 (83%) did not receive radiation therapy (RT), 38 (15%) did receive RT, and use of RT was unknown in 4 (2%).For those who had lobectomy without RT (n = 205), 3- and 5-year OS was 58.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 51.1-64.5%) and 50.3% (95% CI 43.1-57.1%), respectively. For those patients who had a lobectomy with RT (n = 38), 3- and 5-year OS was 64.9% (95% CI 45.5-78.9%) and 57.1% (95% CI 37.4-72.7%), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgery without RT seems to offer reasonable OS outcomes in a cohort of stage I patients who undergo lobectomy. These results should be considered with the understanding that systemic therapy information and margin status are not available from the SEER database.

Management of Small Cell Lung Cancer

PURPOSES

This guideline is for the management of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and is based on currently available information. As part of the guideline, an evidence-based review of the literature was commissioned that enables the reader to assess the evidence as we have attempted to put the clinical implications into perspective.

METHODS

We conducted a comprehensive review of the available literature and the previous American College of Chest Physicians guidelines of SCLC. Controversial and less understood areas of the management of SCLC were then subject to an exhaustive review of the literature and detail analyses. Experts in evidence-based analyses compiled the accompanying systematic review titled "Evidence for Management of SCLC." The evidence was then assessed by a panel of experts to incorporate "clinical relevance." The resultant guidelines were then scored according to the grading system outlined by the American College of Chest Physicians grading system task force.

RESULTS

SCLC accounts for 13 to 20% of all lung cancers. Highly smoking related and initially responsive to treatment, it leads to death rapidly in 2 to 4 months without treatment. SCLC is staged as limited-stage and extensive-stage disease. Limited-stage disease is treated with curative intent with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, with approximately 20% of patients achieving a cure. For all patients with limited-stage disease, median survival is 16 to 22 months. Extensive-stage disease is primarily treated with chemotherapy with a high initial response rate of 60 to 70% but with a median survival of 10 months. All patients achieving a complete remission should be offered prophylactic cranial irradiation. Relapsed or refractory SCLC has a uniformly poor prognosis.

CONCLUSION

In this section, evidence-based guidelines for the staging and treatment of SCLC are outlined. Limited-stage SCLC is treated with curative intent. Extensive-stage SCLC has high initial responses to chemotherapy but with an ultimately dismal prognosis with few survivors beyond 2 years.

Small cell lung cancer

Among patients with lung cancers, the proportion of those with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has decreased over the last decade. SCLC is staged as limited-stage disease and extensive-stage disease. Standard staging procedures for SCLC include CT scans of the chest and abdomen, bone scan, and CT scan or MRI of the brain. The role for positron emission tomography scanning in the staging of SCLC has yet to be defined. Limited-stage disease is treated with curative intent with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, with approximately 20% of patients achieving a cure. The median survival time for patients with limited-stage disease is approximately 18 months. Extensive-stage disease is treated primarily with chemotherapy, with a high initial response rate of 60 to 70% and a complete response rate of 20 to 30%, but with a median survival time of approximately 9 months. Patients achieving a complete remission should be offered prophylactic cranial irradiation. Currently, there is no role for maintenance treatment or bone marrow transplantation in the treatment of patients with SCLC. Relapsed or refractory SCLC has a uniformly poor prognosis. In this section, evidence-based guidelines for the staging and treatment of SCLC are outlined.

[Correlation of lymph node size and metastatic involvement of lymph nodes in bronchial cancer]

For preoperative staging in lung cancer mediastinoscopy is in competition with X-ray, tomography, and computer-tomography (CT). Many authors certify a high sensitivity and specificity to CT in staging lung cancer preoperatively by measuring the diameter of the hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes. In this study we measured the diameter of 162 lymph nodes from 83 patients postoperatively. In view of staging we found no sufficient correlation between the diameter of the lymph nodes and their infiltration by cancer cells. Even 35.7% of the nodes with a diameter of more than 2 cm were not infiltrated. The data support the opinion that CT alone is not sufficient for preoperative staging in lung cancer.

Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus

A primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus in a 61-year-old woman was treated by transhiatal esophagectomy. The clinical data were correlated with data obtained from a review of the 129 cases reported in the world literature, thereby providing a clinical profile and suggested management strategy for this rare type of esophageal malignancy. Presenting symptoms of esophageal small cell carcinoma include dysphagia (75.3%), weight loss (38.4%), and chest pain (23.3%). Treatment regimens have included surgical intervention in 58%, radiotherapy in 10%, chemotherapy in 6%, or some combination of these in 26%. Overall survival is only 20.7 weeks after diagnosis. The fact that three fourths of affected patients had metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis leads us to recommend surgical intervention plus systemic chemotherapy in these patients.

Surgery in small cell lung cancer

Surgery in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) was abandoned in the late 1960s but is currently being cautiously reassessed, after the Armed Forces Asymptomatic Pulmonary Nodule Study demonstrated an unexpectedly prolonged 5-year survival (36%) with surgery. Subsequent prospective studies have reported five-year survival following resection in 22 to 83% of patients with Stage I disease and in 0 to 50% of patients with Stages II and III disease. Ten percent of patients with SCLC may be amenable to this approach. Additional patients may become candidates for resection following intensive combination chemotherapy. The optimal postoperative management remains unsettled. Combination chemotherapy and prophylactic cranial irradiation is recommended following complete resection. Postoperative thoracic irradiation may benefit patients with pathologically involved mediastinal nodes. Correlation of clinical response with our new understanding of the molecular biology of SCLC may further improve our approach to this disease.