Prolonged Survival Following the Superior Vena Cava Syndrome

Bronchogenic carcinoma complicated by the syndrome of superior vena cavai obstruction has been considered uniformly fatal. A patient with this syndrome due to small cell undifferentiated carcinoma of the lung has survived for 13 years following radiation therapy without evidence of recurrence. It is recommended that radical irradiation should remain as part of the management of patients with this disease confined to the chest until better chemotherapeutic regimens are developed.