OBJECTIVES: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) affects approximately 15% of patients with lung cancer, however, relative to non-NSCLC, little information about this disease sub-type is available. The purpose of this study was to characterize the primary SCLC symptoms, impacts, and treatment side-effects from the perspective of the literature. METHODS: With pre-identified search terms, and using MEDLINE®, Embase, and PsycInfo® databases, abstracts were retrieved and screened to identify articles for full review and summarized in a data extraction table. Additionally, reference lists of articles and online resources were searched to identify relevant articles not captured in the database search. Next, fourteen treatments in SCLC were selected for in-depth label and literature review. The SCLC signs, symptoms, impacts, and treatment side-effects collected from the literature were organized in a SCLC conceptual model. RESULTS: Upon reviewing 25 selected articles, a total of 22 SCLC signs and symptoms were cataloged with the following being commonly reported: fatigue, pain (back, bone, and/or chest), cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Additionally, twenty SCLC impact concepts were identified including cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and sleep-related impacts. Finally, the literature identified four main types of SCLC-related treatments (chemotherapy, radiation, biologic agents and targeted agents) with a total of 106 SCLC side-effects with the following being among the most commonly reported: thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anorexia, leukopenia, hyponatremia, alopecia, dehydration, dyspnea, and fever. CONCLUSIONS: The literature-based SCLC conceptual model, encompassing the primary disease related signs, symptoms, impacts, and treatment related side-effects, can help researchers identify relevant treatment targets and, ultimately, assessment strategies and clinical outcome assessment questionnaires capable of measuring those targets. Future research aimed at substantiating these concepts and/or identifying new ones from the perspective of therapeutic area experts and SCLC patients is needed.