Neurotensin in human small cell lung carcinoma

High levels of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity were found in human small cell lung carcinoma lines. No immunoreactivity was present in non-small cell carcinoma lines and only low amounts in postmortem human lung tissue. The immunoreactive material co-eluted with synthetic neurotensin on two different chromatographic systems. No evidence was obtained for the presence of specific neurotensin binding sites in any of the small cell carcinoma lines examined. The results suggest that small lung cell carcinoma lines may be useful for studying the biosynthesis of human neurotensin.     

Genetic changes in small cell lung carcinoma

Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) accounts for approximately 15% of all lung cancer cases. Despite a frequently good response to first-line treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, early relapse occurs in the majority of patients and 5-year survival is only about 5%. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel treatments to improve the outcome of patients with SCLC. To fulfil this need, it is critical to gain further understanding on the molecular basis of SCLC and specifically to identify novel therapeutic targets. Clinical trials with molecularly targeted agents have been performed with little success in the past, but recently many promising oncogenic pathways have been discovered and novel targeted therapies are under evaluation. In this review, we summarise the most relevant genetic and signalling pathway alterations reported to date in SCLC and discuss the potential therapeutic implications of such events.     

Leptomeningeal metastases from small cell lung carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The current study was performed to investigate the frequency of leptomeningeal metastases (LMM) in patients with small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) as well as the effect of LMM on survival, any correlation between the location of the LMM and survival, and a possible increased risk of LMM among patients with brain metastases (BM) located in the posterior fossa. METHODS: Between 1980-2003, 458 consecutive patients with SCLC were enrolled in the current study. Patients underwent regular neurologic examination and imaging of the brain before, during, and after treatment. The diagnosis of LMM was established by either the presence of malignant cells in the cerebrospinal fluid or positive clinical symptoms and signs supported by radiologic findings on magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: The group of patients in the current study had a 2% prevalence of LMM and the 2-year cumulative incidence of LMM was found to be 10%. The median survival after the diagnosis of LMM was reported to be 1.3 months. The median survival among patients with LMM located in the spinal cord was 2.4 months. The reported LMM-free survival 2 years after the diagnosis of SCLC was 78% for patients without BM and 61% for those patients with BM. Approximately 15% of the patients with BM located in the posterior fossa developed LMM, whereas only 10% of patients with cerebral BM did. CONCLUSIONS: The current prospective study found a 2-year cumulative incidence of LMM of 10%, with a prevalence of 2%. Patients with LMM located in the spinal cord appeared to survive longer than patients with cranial LMM. SCLC patients with BM located in the posterior fossa may be at a higher risk of developing LMM compared with patients with cerebral BM.     

Pathology of small cell carcinoma of the lung

Small cell carcinoma of the lung is one of the major subtypes of primary lung cancer. It is a highly aggressive lethal neuroendocrine carcinoma. It is closely related to other neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung, including carcinoid, atypical carcinoid, and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. This article discusses the classification of small cell carcinoma of the lung, identifies its cytologic and histologic characteristics, and places it in context with the other neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung.     

Doxorubicin-hexamethylmelamine therapy of small cell carcinoma of the lung

Eighteen patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung treated with doxorubicin hydrochloride and hexamethylmelamine are presented. Fifteen of these patients had extensive disease at presentation. Four patients in this group died after one or fewer courses of chemotherapy. The median duration of survival for the entire group of patients is 15 months. Six patients are alive from 18 to 56 months without evidence of disease. Drug toxicity was minimal and well tolerated, which permitted this regimen to be given in an outpatient setting.     

DNA ploidy in small cell carcinoma of the lung

Fluorometric single cell DNA analysis was performed on 123 tumour samples from 33 patients who had died of small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL). In 36% (12 patients) the modal DNA profile was hypodiploid or near diploid and the median survival time was 16.3 months, as opposed to 9.5 months for the 21 patients with hyperdiploid DNA profile, who also seemed to have a lower response rate to chemotherapy. It is suggested that an estimation of the modal DNA ploidy before the start of the treatment in SCCL might be used as a cellular parameter to obtain more comparable treatment study groups and for the prediction of survival.     

Long-term survival in small cell carcinoma of the lung

We analyzed the long-term survivors in a group of 255 patients with newly diagnosed small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL) between January 1978 and July 1983. Long-term survivors were defined as those patients free of cancer 2 years after initiation of therapy. Only 6 patients (2.5%) were free of disease at this time. Two patients relapsed at 29 and 40 months from the start of chemotherapy. Both patients were retreated with chemotherapy, and one of them achieved a complete response. Despite the increase in median survival in SCCL with chemotherapy over the past 10 years, long-term prognosis remains very poor employing standard treatments.     

Systemic scleroderma and small cell carcinoma of the lung

A 64-year-old man diagnosed to have systemic scleroderma for 1 year developed small-cell carcinoma of the lung. Six additional cases obtained from the literature describing small-cell carcinoma occurring in patients with scleroderma are reviewed.     

人肺鳞癌组织的比较蛋白质组学研究

目的利用蛋白质组学方法建立人肺鳞癌组织及其癌旁正常支气管上皮组织的差异蛋白质表达谱。方法对20例人肺鳞癌组织和配对的癌旁正常支气管上皮组织进行比较蛋白质组学研究,即利用双向凝胶电泳（2-DE）分离二者总蛋白质后,经图像分析识别差异表达的蛋白,应用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（MALDI—TOF—MS）鉴定差异蛋白质。结果（1）比较分析20例肺鳞癌及正常配对组织的2-DE图谱,找到差异蛋白质点76个;（2）对68个差异蛋白质点进行了肽质量指纹图分析,鉴定出一些与瘤基因、细胞周期调控、信号转导等有关的肺鳞癌相关蛋白;（3）肺鳞癌相关蛋白mdm2、c-Jun和表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）在人肺鳞癌组织中高表达,而在正常对照中均表达下调,与蛋白质组的分析鉴定结果是一致的。结论成功鉴定了68个肺鳞癌相关蛋白,为进一步筛选用于肺鳞癌诊断、治疗和预后评估的肺鳞癌分子标志物奠定了坚实的基础。     

Prognostic factors in patients with small cell lung carcinoma

Background The current prognosis in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is unsatisfactory, even though there have been considerable improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Methods We retrospectively analyzed all consecutive patients with small cell lung carcinoma between 1995 and 2007 in a Turkish chest hospital. A total of 116 SCLC patients initially presented with limited disease, while 92 small cell lung carcinoma patients were found to be extensive. Results The mean age of the patients (18 women and 190 men) was 56 years. The median survival was 74 weeks. Performance status, superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS), stage, elevated white blood cell count, elevated lactate dehidrogenase levels, short symptom duration (≤4 weeks) response to chemotherapy and bone metastasis were significant prognostic factors in univariate analysis. It was necessary for patients to receive at least three cycles of chemotherapy for a survival benefit. Cox proportional hazards model identified only stage, performance status and SVCS as independent prognostic factors. Conclusions Stage, performance status and SVCS were determined to be the most important prognostic factors for SCLC patients.