Urushiyama H, et al. – The outcomes of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and lymph node metastasis treated with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy were compared. Results did not reveal any difference in recurrence–free survival between patients with SCLC and N1–2 lymph node metastasis treated with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy.

Methods

• Data were gathered on patients with postoperative SCLC diagnosed with N1 and N2 lymph node metastasis from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in Japan, between July 2010 and March 2015.
• Data on patient age, sex, comorbidities, and TNM classification at lung surgery; operative procedures, chemotherapy drugs, and radiotherapy during hospitalization; and discharge status, were extracted.
• Between the chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy groups, recurrence-free survival was compared, using multivariable Cox regression analysis.

Results

• In the chemotherapy group (n = 489), median recurrence-free survival was 1146 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 885–1407), and 873 days (95% CI, 464–1282) in the chemoradiotherapy group (n = 75).
• No significant difference was noticed between these after adjusting for patient backgrounds (hazard ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.91–1.84).