Current small cell lung cancer treatment in China.
BACKGROUND
The treatment status of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in Mainland China has never been reported; therefore, this study is the first multicenter survey investigating the status of epidemiology and treatment options of SCLC in Mainland China.


METHODS
Two questionnaires were designed to obtain information in 12 medical centers in five major Chinese cities. The hospital information questionnaire was designed to outline SCLC patients' characteristics and treatment preferences in each medical institution, and the patient information questionnaire collected detailed treatment information of 298 SCLC cases in these hospitals.


RESULTS
SCLC represented 13.7% and 18.3% of all lung cancer patients in 2005 and 2010, respectively. Clinical management of SCLC follows mainstream clinical guidelines in general. The most widely applied first-line treatment mode for limited-stage patients was combined chemoradiotherapy (66.2%), while 77.0% of the extensive-stage patients received chemotherapy alone as initial treatment. Etoposide with cisplatin or carboplatin were the most accepted first-line chemotherapy regimens. The objective response rate was 58.3% after first-line chemotherapy and 23% of the patients who responded well to first-line treatment received prophylactic cranial irradiation. As for second-line chemotherapy, single regimen topotecan or a combined regimen containing topotecan were preferred (53.0%).


CONCLUSIONS
The treatment options indicated in our study are in accordance with the international clinical guidelines, which is valuable for the improvement of future guidelines, health care standard, and even the better distribution of health care resources in China.
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute/ Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Beijing, China ; National Center for Anticancer Drugs Clinical Study Beijing, China ; Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs Beijing, China.
Yuankai
Y
Shi
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute/ Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Beijing, China ; National Center for Anticancer Drugs Clinical Study Beijing, China ; Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs Beijing, China.
Puyuan
P
Xing
Department of Chemotherapy, Zhejiang Provincial Cancer Hospital Hangzhou, China.
Yun
Y
Fan
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Xin
X
Zhang
Department of Respiratory, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University Changsha, China.
Chengping
C
Hu
Department of Chemotherapy, Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shan dong University Jinan, China.
Caixia
C
Wang
Lung Tumor Department, Cancer Center, 307 Hospital of The PLA Beijing, China.
Xiaoqing
X
Liu
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University Shanghai, China.
Xiaoxia
X
Chen
Department of Respiratory Disease, Thoracic Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China.
Jianying
J
Zhou
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Beijing, China.
Mengzhao
M
Wang
Thoracic Medical Oncology Department, Beijing Cancer Hospital & Institute, the Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital Beijing, China.
Meina
M
Wu
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Shanghai, China.
Baohui
B
Han
Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Min
M
Fan
Chemotherapy; Chinese population; epidemiology; radiotherapy; small cell lung cancer