Salvage Surgery for Small-Cell Lung Cancer—A Literature Review

Abstract

(1) Background: Salvation surgery for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is exceptionally performed, and only a few cases are published. (2) Methods: There are 6 publications that present 17 cases of salvation surgery for SCLC—the salvation surgery was performed in the context of modern clearly established protocols for SCLC and after including SCLC in the TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) staging in 2010. (3) Results: After a median follow-up of 29 months, the estimated overall survival (OS) was 86 months. The median estimated 2-year survival was 92%, and the median estimated 5-year survival was 66%. (4) Conclusion: Salvage surgery for SCLC is a relatively new and extremely uncommon concept and represents an alternative to second-line chemotherapy. It is valuable because it may offer a reasonable treatment for selected patients, good local control, and a favorable survival outcome.

Keywords

• lung cancer
• small-cell lung cancer (SCLC)
• salvage surgery
• salvation surgery
• salvage resection
• lung resection