Different treatment modalities on the prognosis of patients with stage I–IIIa small cell lung cancer: a population based study

For stage II-IIIa SCLC patients, lobectomy might have similar efficacy to chemoradiotherapy in improving LCSS and OS, and there is no need for adjuvant chemotherapy ± radiotherapy after surgery. For stage I SCLC patients, lobectomy plus postoperative chemoradiotherapy might be superior to chemoradiotherapy or lobectomy in improving LCSS and OS; however, the conclusion might be biased. These results suggest that the effect of surgery on SCLC patients may be worthy of further study.