Objective: To evaluate the clinical features and prognosis of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) complicated with hyponatremia.
Methods: The clinical data of 158 patients with SCLC of the Second Xiangya Hospital from January 2000 to December 2007 were studied retrospectively.
Results: The incidence rate of hyponatremia in SCLC was 42.4%(67/158). The median survival time was 7.6 months in patients with subnormal serum sodium, and 14.1 months in patients with normal values. There was significantly different between 2 groups (P<0.001). The patients who did not fully regain normal values of serum sodium, had poorer survival (6.2 months) compared with the patients with normal serum sodium (10.3 months, P=0.044).
Conclusion: The incidence rate of hyponatremia in SCLC is high. The prognosis of SCLC with hyponatremia is very poor, especially in those who can not regain normal values of serum sodium after the treatment. So diagnosis and treatment at early stage are very important.