Proton therapy for small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) comprises a minority of lung cancer diagnoses but displays considerably more aggressive behavior than non-SCLC (NSCLC). Roughly two-thirds of SCLC cases are extensive stage (ES-SCLC), and the remainder have thorax-confined, non-metastatic disease, termed limited-stage SCLC (LS-SCLC). Chemotherapy is a cornerstone of therapy for both LS-SCLC and ES-SCLC, while surgery (1) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (2-4) play a role in only the minority of LS-SCLC cases. Although the role of thoracic radiation therapy (RT) continues to evolve for ES-SCLC (5), it is considered crucial to provide satisfactory outcomes in LS-SCLC (6,7)