Small Cell Brain Radiation
Transcript
When you have limited small cell lung cancer, because it has such a high chance of going into the brain, we actually opt to do radiation to the whole brain, because we know the chance of it recurring in that area is so high. If you have extensive small cell lung cancer, you don’t necessarily irradiate the whole brain if there is no cancer there yet. And instead treat it when it arrives.
The reason for that, unfortunately, is because extensive small cell lung cancer is so aggressive and difficult to treat. Survivals are just lower than that in a curative setting, despite them both being pretty aggressive.
Key Takeaways
1. With limited small cell lung cancer, radiation is often done on the whole brain, because we know the chance of it coming back in that area is so high.
2. If you have extensive small cell lung cancer, the cancer is usually treated when it arrives to the brain because it is so aggressive and difficult to treat.
