Onkologie. 2026:20(4):219-224 | DOI: 10.36290/xon.2026.039

Treatment of Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Martin Svatoň

Klinika pneumologie a ftizeologie, FN a LF UK Plzeň

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) continues to be a disease with a poor prognosis. Therefore, efforts are underway to develop new treatments that would change this characteristic. Immunotherapy in extensive stage (ES) SCLC (both in the form of checkpoint inhibitors and tarlatamab) has only brought a modest benefit for long-term survival. The addition of chemotherapy with lurbinectedin appears to have also modest effect. In limited stage (LS) SCLC, long-term data on the benefit of immunotherapy are not yet known, but medium-term data are promising. With the adding of immunotherapy to treatment schedule, it will also be necessary to reassess the effect of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) - in LS-SCLC the situation is quite unclear, in ES-SCLC the replacement of PCI with repeated brain MRIs now prevails. Likewise, the role of consolidation chest irradiation in ES-SCLC will need to be clarified in the era of immunotherapy - both in general with regard to its benefit and also with regard to the selected radiotherapy regimen. At the same time, studies are underway with new treatment modalities (especially with antibody-drug conjugates, ADCs). This review article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these issues.

Keywords: SCLC, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, BiTE, radiotherapy.

Accepted: September 21, 2026; Published: October 9, 2026  Show citation