Tumor size and lymph node metastasis are prognostic markers of small cell lung cancer in a Chinese population

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a high-grade neuroendocrine tumor characterized by rapid growth, early metastatic spread, and poor prognosis. This study aimed to explore the prognosis factors of survival in Chinese SCLC patients. A total of 78 patients with stage IIIA SCLC (mean age: 53.9 years, 65 males and 13 females) were enrolled in this retrospective study. At least of 5 years follow-up was performed. The survival time of these patients ranged from 1 month to 66 months with a median survival time of 11 months. Kaplan–Meier method with log-rank test was performed and showed that survival time in patients with tumor size ≤4 cm (median: 16 months) was significantly longer (P < .001) than that in patients with tumor size > 4 cm (median: 8 months); the median survival time of the patients with single lymph node metastasis was significantly longer than that in patients with multiple lymph node metastasis (P = .043). Combined multiple lymph node metastasis and tumor size >4 cm presented the worst survival outcome than others. Multivariate analysis by Cox Hazard model shows that the lymph node metastasis and tumors size were prognostic factors independent of age, sex, smoke, surgery, and treatment regimen (P < .05). Results showed that larger tumor size and multiple lymph node metastasis were associated with the poor survival in SCLC.