Outcome of treatment in patients with small cell lung cancer in poor performance status

<b>Background:</b> Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with poor performance status (PS) especially in the elderly may not benefit from chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to compare survival of treated patients with PS 3-4 with untreated patients. <b>Material and methods:</b> We reviewed the medical records and pathology data for 448 patients diagnosed with small cell carcinoma from 2010 to 2015 and selected all patients in PS 3-4 for review. <b>Results:</b> A total of 87 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 53 (61%) received chemotherapy (CT), while 34 (39%) did not. The median overall survival (OS) was 5.1 months for the treated patients and 0.7 month for the untreated (<i>p</i> <b>Conclusion:</b> CT was associated with improved survival in patients with SCLC with PS 3-4 independent of age and stage of disease. Neither ED, high age, nor poor PS should be used as criteria for omitting CT.<b>背景：</b>体力状态（performance status, PS）较差的小细胞肺癌（small cell lung cancer, SCLC）患者，尤其是老年群体，可能无法从化疗中获益。本研究旨在对比体力状态评分为3~4分的接受治疗患者与未接受治疗患者的生存情况。<b>材料与方法：</b>我们回顾了2010年至2015年间确诊为小细胞肺癌的448例患者的病历与病理资料，并筛选出所有体力状态评分为3~4分的患者进行回顾分析。<b>结果：</b>共计87例患者符合纳入标准。其中53例（61%）接受了化疗（chemotherapy, CT），剩余34例（39%）未接受化疗。接受治疗患者的中位总生存期（overall survival, OS）为5.1个月，未接受治疗患者为0.7个月（<i>p</i><b>结论：</b>化疗可改善体力状态评分为3~4分的小细胞肺癌患者的生存情况，且该获益与患者年龄及疾病分期无关。不应将广泛期（extensive disease, ED）、高龄或较差的体力状态评分作为放弃化疗的指征。