The purposes of this study were 2-fold: to evaluate the impact of the schedule dependency of etoposide (3-day IV short course vs. a 21-day oral prolonged course) with cisplatin on the quality of life of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients; and to examine the effect of baseline quality of life variables on long-term survival, after adjustment for known demographic and clinical prognostic factors. Participants were 70 patients enrolled in the cancer and leukemia group B (CALGB) protocol 9033. Quality of life was assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks by: the EORTC QLQ-30, the Centers for epidemiology studies--Depression short form, the medical outcomes study (MOS) social support questionnaire, and a scale of sleep quality. Contrary to expectations, study results suggested no significant differences in the patients' life quality and treatment response based on whether they received etoposide in a 3-day IV vs. a 21-day oral regimen. The use of the baseline variables in predicting overall survival indicated that patients who were non-white and with liver involvement had decreased survival. Brain involvement, being male, and higher depressive symptoms were also found to be borderline significant in predicting decreased survival in this patient population.