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Do you have any special diagnostic or treatment considerations when evaluating never-smokers with metastatic small cell lung cancer?

As SCLC in never smokers is extremely rare, do you consider NGS testing, or do you modify treatment in any way?
2 Answers
Mednet Member
Mednet Member
Medical Oncology · St Louis Cancer Care LLP
Answered on · Updated on

There is an increased risk of developing small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with prolonged exposure to radon, although not all studies have found this association in never smokers (Barros-Dios et al., PMID 22539606). It wouldn't hurt to ask if the home has been tested.

I would be very interested in sendin...

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Mednet Member
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Medical Oncology · Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Answered on

I will consider NGS testing but even if an oncogenic driver is found, targeted therapy is unlikely to work. What I will do is repeat biopsy to evaluate if there is mixed NSCLC present, which increases the probability of response to targeted therapy. However, SCLC component still needs to be addresse...

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