Current small cell lung cancer treatment in China

BACKGROUND: The treatment status of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in Mainland China has never been reported; therefore, this study is the first multicenter survey investigating the status of epidemiology and treatment options of SCLC in Mainland China. METHODS: Two questionnaires were designed to obtain information in 12 medical centers in five major Chinese cities. The hospital information questionnaire was designed to outline SCLC patients' characteristics and treatment preferences in each medical institution, and the patient information questionnaire collected detailed treatment information of 298 SCLC cases in these hospitals. RESULTS: SCLC represented 13.7% and 18.3% of all lung cancer patients in 2005 and 2010, respectively. Clinical management of SCLC follows mainstream clinical guidelines in general. The most widely applied first-line treatment mode for limited-stage patients was combined chemoradiotherapy (66.2%), while 77.0% of the extensive-stage patients received chemotherapy alone as initial treatment. Etoposide with cisplatin or carboplatin were the most accepted first-line chemotherapy regimens. The objective response rate was 58.3% after first-line chemotherapy and 23% of the patients who responded well to first-line treatment received prophylactic cranial irradiation. As for second-line chemotherapy, single regimen topotecan or a combined regimen containing topotecan were preferred (53.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The treatment options indicated in our study are in accordance with the international clinical guidelines, which is valuable for the improvement of future guidelines, health care standard, and even the better distribution of health care resources in China.