Management of the patient with extensive stage microcytoma. The importance of collaboration between oncology and radiotherapy

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents one of the most complex challenges in the oncological field, with a very slow advancement in research, contrary to the rapid evolutionary of the disease. For nearly two years, the mainstay of treatment for extensive-stage disease (ES-SCLC) has been the combination of platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy, following the approval of atezolizumab and subsequently durvalumab, based on a modest, but significant improvement in overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone. The poor prognosis after the failure of first-line treatment explains the need to maximize the duration and efficacy of up-front systemic therapies, in particular, the emerging role of radiotherapy, also in ES-SCLC. On 10 November 2022, a meeting concerning the integrated treatment of patients with ES-SCLC was held in Rome and was attended by 12 specialists in oncology and radiotherapy from various centers in Lazio, under the direction of Federico Cappuzzo, Emilio Bria and Sara Ramella. The aim of the meeting was to share their clinical experience and to provide a series of practical indications in order to support physicians in the correct integration between first-line chemo-immunotherapy and radiotherapy treatments in ES-SCLC.