The needle can miss the tumour, and false positives occasionally occur. Open biopsy via thoracotomy is more reliable. Management Small cell cancer Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice for small cell cancer of the lung. In some cases of very early limited small cell cancer, the tumour is removed surgically prior to chemotherapy. The addition of consolidation thoracic radiotherapy to the treatment of limited-stage 'responders' has been shown to lead to a small increase in survival and a reduction in the incidence of local recurrence.
Combination chemotherapy works better than any single agent.
Combinations which contain platinum are more successful than those which do not. Long-term survival is rare. Without treatment, the condition deteriorates rapidly and the patient dies within a few weeks. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice, with resectability dependent on tumour stage and lung and heart health. Primaries that are extensive or have spread beyond the lung are not resectable.