A study of microwave ablation for small cell lung cancer.

<bold>Purpose: </bold>To reveal the survival and safety of percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) combined with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in treating small cell lung cancer (SCLC).<bold>Materials and Methods: </bold>Clinical data of 48 SCLC patients who underwent MWA were retrospectively collected; survival and incidence of major complications were analyzed.<bold>Results: </bold>Totally, 48 SCLC patients underwent 51 MWA procedures. The median overall survival (OS) for all SCLC was 27.0 months (95% confidence interval 22.4-31.6 months). The OS of limited-stage (LS-SCLC) was longer than the extensive-stage (ES-SCLC) (median 48.0 months vs. 25.0 months, P = 0.022). The OS of SCLC with tumor diameter ≤3.0 cm was longer than that of tumor diameter >3.0 cm (median 48.0 months vs. 27.0 months, P = 0.041). For LS-SCLC, the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate was 91.67%, 72.22%, 66.67%, and 61.11%, respectively. For ES-SCLC, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 83.33%, 50.0%, and 8.33%. Major complications included pneumothorax needing tube placement (29.4%), rarely arrhythmia (2.0%), empyema (2.0%), pulmonary fungal infection (2.0%), and shingles (2.0%).<bold>Conclusion: </bold>For SCLC patients, who received MWA combined with CRT, OS of LS-SCLC and tumor diameter ≤3.0 cm was better than that of the ES-SCLC and tumor diameter >3.0 cm. For inoperable SCLC, MWA was safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]