The prognosis of small cell lung cancer in patients with pulmonary fibrosis

Abstract

Background/Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the prognosis of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) based on the underlying pulmonary disease. Patients and Methods: A total of 204 patients with SCLC were reviewed and categorized into three groups: normal, emphysema and fibrosis. Results: The median overall survival duration (OS) in patients with normal lungs (n=57), with emphysema (n=105) and fibrosis (n=42) was 21.3, 16.4 and 10.8 months (p=0.063). In limited-stage disease (LD), the median OS in patients with fibrosis (7.4 months) was shorter than normal (52.7 months) or emphysema patients (26.4 months) (p=0.034). In extensive-stage disease (ED), the median OS in patients with fibrosis (12.7 months) was not significantly different from normal (11.4 months) or emphysema patients (13.5 months) (p=0.600). Conclusion: Patients with fibrosis had a poorer prognosis than normal or emphysema patients in LD-SCLC, but the coexistence of pulmonary fibrosis did not affect the prognostic outcomes in ED-SCLC.