Application of prophylactic cranial irradiation in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer: which patients could benefit?

AIM To analyze the role of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) on the survival for patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). PATIENTS & METHODS We screened patients from SEER database. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard model were used to evaluate factors influencing survival. RESULTS LS-SCLC patients who receiving PCI were associated with better overall survival (OS; p  0.05). CONCLUSION PCI remains an effective method for most LS-SCLC patients. However, caution should be taken in recommending PCI for black patients and patients with a tumor size <5 cm. Further clinical trials are necessary to validate our results and identify the most suitable patients for PCI in the modern era.