Abstract

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an extremely aggressive tumour with a poor clinical course. It is however responsive to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Some clinical and laboratory parameters can predict response to chemotherapy and long term survival in SCLC. In this study, we presented 3 SCLC patients as long term survivors. We tried to find some prognostic factors that identify long term survivors. We also compared our results with previous studies. We found that performance status, extent of disease and patient’s age were the most important clinical factors in long term survival. Also lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level was the most important pretreatment laboratory parameter. These factors may be used to figure out good or poor prognosis in SCLC patients and to help clinician make appropriate treatment decisions for individuals.