Despite updated data showing 30% more people with extensive stage small cell lung cancer are alive at 24 months compared to those who received chemotherapy alone, Canadian regulator had rejected to fund Tecentriq for extensive stage small-cell lung cancer "as too costly" followed by United Kingdom also citing "drug’s cost-effectiveness." Radiation therapy
Chest radiation helps SCLC patients live longer by killing cancer cells and helping prevention of cancer recurrence. Another type of radiation, prophylactic cranial radiation, prevents central nervous system recurrence and can improve survival in patients with good performance status who have had a complete response or a very good partial response to chemoradiation in LD or chemotherapy in ED. In case of relapse
If small cell lung cancer comes back after treatment, the following combination of drugs may be used as a salvage therapy:
Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Procytox),
Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) and
Vincristine (Oncovin)
Paclitaxel (Taxol)
Irinotecan (Camptosar) Current guidelines recommend that patients who relapse > 6 months from initial therapy should be retreated with the original chemotherapy regimen. For patients who relapse in < 6 months, single-agent chemotherapy either topotecan second-line therapy, or paclitaxel can be used. Novel agents
Several newer agents, including temozolomide and bendamustine, have activity in relapsed SCLC.
5-year survival rates
The SEER database tracks 5-year relative survival rates based on age, sex, and race and is considered the most accurate source of survival information. This database uses terms "Localized," "Regional," and "Distant" to describe various stages of small cell lung cancer. 5-year relative survival rate for "both sexes" and "all races" affected by

"Localized" small cell lung cancer is 28.5%;
"Regional" small cell lung cancer 14.9%; and for
"Distant" small cell lung cancer 2.9%. Survival rates by sex
Women affected by small-cell lung cancer have higher 5-year survival rates than men. Localized: Women – 32.2% | Men – 24.5%
Regional: Women – 17.0% | Men – 12.3%
Distant: Women – 3.6% | Men – 2.2%

Survival rates by race, sex, age
5-year relative survival statistics are more accurate and, in some cases, higher when specific race and age range are combined with sex and stage at diagnosis. For example,

Black / Female | Ages < 50 (at diagnosis) | Distant (ES SCLC) | = 7.0%. White / Female | Ages < 50 (at diagnosis) | Distant (ES SCLC) | = 6.1%National Cancer Institutes SEER maintains publicly accessible database for specific survival rates. Epidemiology
15% of lung cancers in the US are of this type. Small cell lung cancer occurs almost exclusively in smokers – most commonly in heavy smokers and rarely in non-smokers. Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act
In 2013, the US Congress passed the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, which mandated increased attention to certain recalcitrant cancers, including small cell lung cancer. That led to the National Cancer Institute supporting small cell–specific research through a consortium.