🫁 SCLC (Small Cell Lung Cancer) – Overview
Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) is a fast-growing, aggressive form of lung cancer that accounts for about 10-15% of all lung cancers. It tends to spread quickly to other parts of the body and is strongly linked to smoking.
🏷️ Key Features of SCLC
- Originates from neuroendocrine cells in the lungs
- Typically found in the central part of the lungs near the bronchi
- Rapid growth and early metastasis (spread)
- Usually presents with symptoms earlier due to rapid progression
📋 Risk Factors
- Cigarette smoking (primary risk factor)
- Exposure to secondhand smoke
- Exposure to carcinogens like asbestos and radon
🩺 Symptoms
- Persistent cough
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing up blood (hemoptysis)
- Weight loss and fatigue
- Swelling of the face or neck (due to superior vena cava syndrome)
- Symptoms related to metastasis (e.g., bone pain, neurological symptoms)
🔬 Diagnosis
- Chest X-ray and CT scan to detect lung tumors
- Biopsy (bronchoscopy or needle biopsy) for confirmation
- MRI or CT of the brain to check for brain metastases (common in SCLC)
- PET scan for staging
- Blood tests and other imaging as needed
💊 Treatment
- Chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment (usually combined with radiation)
- Radiation therapy to the chest and sometimes prophylactic cranial irradiation (to prevent brain metastases)
- Surgery is rarely used because SCLC is usually widespread at diagnosis
- Emerging role of immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy
🔄 Prognosis
- Generally poorer prognosis than NSCLC due to aggressive nature
- Divided into:
- Limited stage (cancer confined to one lung and nearby lymph nodes)
- Extensive stage (spread beyond one lung)
- Survival depends on stage but often measured in months to a few years even with treatment