Abstract:
Extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) accounts for approximately two-thirds of all SCLCs. Chemotherapy is still the main treatment, supplemented with radiotherapy and other comprehensive treatments. Although sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, almost all ES-SCLCs are vulnerable to treatment resistance and have high recurrence rates. Therefore, novel therapies are needed to improve treatment efficacy. The recent advances in radiotherapy for ES- SCLC include prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) and thoracic radiotherapy (TRT). Moreover, immunotherapy has shown good antitumor activity, and immune-checkpoint inhibitors may become an important breakthrough in SCLC treatment. This article briefly reviewed the clinical research on radiotherapy and immunotherapy for advanced-stage SCLC.