There are treatments for all patients with small cell lung cancer. Additionally, clinical trials are testing the effect of new therapies on the treatment of small cell lung cancer. Surgery may be used if the cancer is found only in one lung and in nearby lymph nodes. Because this type of lung cancer is usually not found in only one lung, surgery alone is not often used. Occasionally, surgery may be used to help determine exactly which type of lung cancer the patient has.
Pneumonectomy removes the entire lung.
During surgery, the doctor will also take out lymph nodes to see if they contain cancer. It may be used to kill cancer cells in the lungs or in other parts of the body where the cancer has spread. Radiation therapy may also be used to prevent the cancer from growing in the brain. Because PCI may affect brain function, the doctor will help the patient decide whether to have this kind of radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is the most common treatment of all stages of small cell lung cancer.