What are the specific diagnostic criteria for small cell lung cancer?

Small cell lung cancer is a disease that makes patients more and more miserable. Most of the patients with this disease are men. This is because they smoke. The living standards of patients will also be greatly reduced. What are the specific diagnostic criteria for small cell lung cancer? Let's learn about it together.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a special type of lung cancer. It is a highly malignant neuroendocrine tumor, accounting for about 15% to 20% of lung cancer. It often occurs in middle-aged and elderly people, more often in men than in women, and has the characteristics of early metastasis, rapid growth, and sensitivity to initial chemotherapy. It is clinically divided into limited stage and extensive stage. The limited stage is when the tumor is limited to one side of the chest cavity, mediastinum, or supraclavicular lymph nodes (when the tumor has spread to the above sites, it can be included in a radiation window); otherwise it is the extensive stage. Most cases are diagnosed as extensive at the first visit, and there are relatively few limited cases. Small cell lung cancer is considered a systemic disease, with chemotherapy as the main treatment combined with radiotherapy and/or surgery and other comprehensive treatments. Although the initial treatment is highly sensitive, the high recurrence rate has not significantly improved its long-term survival.

Small cell lung cancer is a less common type of lung cancer and is mainly diagnosed through a comprehensive assessment of medical history, physical examination, blood tests, imaging tests, endoscopy, and pathological examinations.

1. Clinical diagnosis

The initial symptoms include cough, sputum, fever, chest tightness, shortness of breath, chest pain and extrapulmonary symptoms. Especially for middle-aged and elderly men who smoke for a long time, chest CT and other examinations should be carried out in time.

2. Imaging diagnosis

Chest CT has become the preferred method for diagnosing small cell lung cancer. CT combined with percutaneous lung puncture biopsy, fiberoptic bronchoscopy biopsy and other methods can significantly improve the diagnosis rate of small cell lung cancer.

At present, due to the influence of factors such as smoking, secondhand smoke and changes in dietary structure, the incidence of small cell lung cancer in my country is still increasing year by year, and it is one of the important tumors that endanger the health of the Chinese people. Quitting smoking can not only reduce the incidence of small cell lung cancer, but also reduce its mortality rate. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle should be advocated, including "quitting smoking and limiting alcohol, eating a reasonable diet, exercising scientifically, and having a balanced mentality", and comprehensive prevention and control measures with comprehensive tobacco control as the fundamental means should be implemented.