The influence of T and N stages on long-term survival was evaluated in 49 patients with small cell lung cancer treated between 1975 and 1982. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered in 34 patients and consisted of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and vincristine or etoposide, while 15 patients were treated with surgery alone. To date, overall median survival is 12 months, with nine patients (18.4%), who received adjuvant chemotherapy, currently alive and disease-free at 60 to 150 months. Survival was statistically influenced by the N stage but not the T stage; patients at the N0 stage had a significant increase when compared to N1 and N2 patients, on both 5-year survival (p less than 0.05 and p less than 0.025, respectively) and long-term survivors (p = 0.006 and p = 0.004, respectively). Results suggest that surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy might be an effective form of treatment in small cell lung cancer for T1, T2 and also T3 tumours without hilar or mediastinal lymph node involvement.