LDCT-based lung cancer screening and small cell lung cancer: Limited but non-negligible impact on survival. A brief report

Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT)-based lung cancer screening (LCS) seems to have very limited impact on small cell lung cancer (SCLC) outcomes. This study aims at describing frequency and outcomes of SCLC in a large LCS population. Patients diagnosed with SCLC among the total population enrolled in three different trials (n = 7473) were selected for the present analysis. Demographic and clinical data were collected at the baseline and follow-up screening rounds, while the vital status and date of death were obtained through a dedicated national platform. Of the 396 diagnosed LCs, 28 (7.1%) were SCLCs; median survival time from the diagnosis was 1.5 years, and overall mortality was 71.4%. Screen-detected SCLCs were 20/28 (71.4%); 5/20 (25%) were prevalent cancers and 15/20 (75%) incident ones. Five-year mortality among the screen-detected and non-screen detected SCLCs was 70% and 62.5%, respectively. The frequency of SCLC was lower as compared to other trials. Although no significant differences in five-year mortality were observed between screen-detected and non-screen-detected SCLCs, the overall five-year mortality was substantially lower than that reported in non-LCS populations, suggesting that LDCT-based LCS has an impact on SCLC outcome, albeit limited.