 Small cell lung cancer is named based on the size of the cells that cause the cancer. It accounts for about 20% of lung cancer cases.  It also referred to as oat cell carcinoma or oat cell cancer.  This type of cancer mostly starts developing at the bronchi near the chest center.  It spreads quickly to other parts of the body even before its diagnosed.  This type of lung cancer also grows very rapidly.  The major cause of this cancer is smoking of tobacco.  Other people than are more prone to this SCLC are the people exposed to radon and asbestos gas.

 SCLC is mostly diagnosed in people over the age of 65years with a percentage of 50%, and 30% for people over the age of 30%.  The young people who are affected by this disease tolerate the treatment much better than the elderly people.  This is because of the reductions in organ function and comorbidities with age progression.  In America some statistics show that Lung cancer incidence rates among men have decreased by 29 percent since 1980 whereas increasing by sixty percent in women.

 SCLC is a very dangerous disease which is not curable but can be treated.  It’s the leading cause of death cancer for men  Statistics shows that in 1987 it surpassed breast cancer to become the leading cause of cancer deaths among women as well.  Patients suffer from persistent cough, coughing blood, recurring pneumonia, shortness of breath and other.

 Most lung cancers are not identified until later stages.  Prognosis or chances of recovery of SCLC if not addressed are very minute or nearly zero rate.  Prognosis for other patients depends on the stage of cancer development and also the treatment being used either chemotherapy or radiation therapy.  This is because if the disease is diagnosed in its early stages it can be treated before spreading the cells to other parts of the body like brain or liver.

 The main treatment of small cell lung cancer is chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The SCLC responds well to chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatment.  Other treatment that have been introduced is Sabarubicin which might improve the long- term outcome though not confirmed.

 Lung Cancer (2011).State of Lung Disease in Diverse Communities. Retrieved from solddc-chapters/lc.pdf

Kimberly Crawford Kaplan University HS310 September 16, 2013