Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) in patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer.

A few series in the literature were published before 1987 on syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This study examines the outcome in more recent era. From 1981-1998, there were 1417 new cases of SCLC diagnosed in the provincial registry, of which 244 were of limited stage (LS). A chart review and statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney test, chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier method. Fourteen LS patients (group A) had SIADH at presentation. Group B consisted of 230 LS patients without SIADH. There were more patients with poorer performance status (ECOG 2-4) in group A than B (28.6% versus 7.8%, P=0.03). Otherwise, sex, age at diagnosis, nodal spread, pleural effusion, bronchial obstruction, superior vena cava obstruction, performance status, weight loss, and lactic dehydrogenase at presentation, were comparable between the two groups. Treatments given, e.g., extent of surgical resection (if performed, whether complete/incomplete), total number of chemotherapy cycles, radiotherapy doses, were comparable (P>0.05). The response to chemo-radiation was not significantly different (P=0.7). Five-year overall survival (8% versus 19%, P=0.08), and cause-specific survival (16% versus 20%, P=0.13) showed that group A patients had a worse outcome, though of borderline significance. Symptoms related to SIADH included: weakness, 4 patients; tiredness, 3; change in level of consciousness, 1; seizure, 1. The range of lowest sodium level was 110-129. Two patients also had paraneoplastic myopathy. SIADH resolved in 12 patients at 1.6-44.7 weeks (median: 4.3). Among the 14 patients who initially presented with SIADH and recurred later, 10 had recurrence of SIADH at the time of tumor recurrence. Serum sodium was useful for post-treatment surveillance in SCLC patients who presented with SIADH, with 71% (10/14) developing SIADH again at the time of recurrence. SIADH is a poor prognostic factor for LS SCLC.