Small cell lung cancer is a highly malignant tumor with a poor biologic behavior and an aggressive prognosis. Small cell lung cancer has a shorter prediagnostic symptom period than other types of lung cancer and a shorter post-diagnostic survival period when compared to the same extent of dissemination. Without treatment, the median survival of patients with small cell lung cancer is less than three months from diagnosis, and the two-year survival rate is less than 1%. Small cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 20% of all types of lung cancer. The age of onset is young, it is mostly seen in men, and most patients have a history of smoking. It usually originates from larger bronchi and is mostly central lung cancer. Small cell carcinoma is poorly differentiated, grows rapidly, and develops early lymphatic metastases and invades blood vessels to metastasize extensively to distant organs and tissues in the body via the bloodstream; therefore, small cell carcinoma has the worst prognosis among all types of lung cancer.
How long a patient with small cell lung cancer can live in the late stage depends mainly on the effect of chemotherapy and whether the patient has recurrence after treatment. Generally, the survival cycle without treatment is only a few months, which can be effectively extended after treatment, and the exact time needs to be determined according to the patient’s degree of tumor differentiation. It is recommended that patients should actively carry out treatment, with chemotherapy as the first choice, and radiation therapy can be integrated together. It is important to pay attention to the measures of active care before chemotherapy to try to enhance the patient’s tolerance to chemotherapy in order to complete the treatment and enhance the effect of treatment.