Wu AJ, et al. – In this study, it was presumed that tumor–node–metastasis (TNM) stage predicted brain metastasis risk, and could inform the use of prophylactic cranial irradiation. This study highlighted the potential of TNM staging to predict the likelihood of distant metastasis, brain metastasis, and survival in limited–stage small cell lung cancer (LS–SCLC), thereby it was suggested to use in clinical practice.

Methods

• 283 patients with stage I–IIIB SCLC, were examined.
• Local, distant, and brain failure were tested using competing-risks regression.
• The clinicians used multivariate analysis to evaluate the effect of treatment and clinical factors on failure and OS.

Results

• As compared with stage III patients, patients with stage I or II SCLC (35% of cohort) had significantly better survival and lower risk of distant and brain metastasis.
• It was reported that the 5-year cumulative incidence of brain metastasis for stage I/II and III were 12% and 26%, respectively.
• No correlation of stage was noticed with local failure.
• Stage was independently prognostic for survival, distant metastasis risk, and brain metastasis risk, in multivariate analysis.