Long-term survival of a patient with small cell lung cancer after eight lines of chemotherapy and radiation

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) results in death within one to two months if left untreated. Although therapeutic standards only comprise first- and second-line chemotherapy due to poor prognosis, a subset of patients may warrant a trial of further chemotherapy regimens, as demonstrated in the following case. We present a 52-year-old man with confirmed anaplastic SCLC who has been alive and in good condition for almost nine years now while receiving eight lines of chemotherapy including high dose chemotherapy and thoracic radiation. Remarkably, he had two very long remission phases following topotecan of 24 months…