Why we should improve current practice of diagnosing and treating pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas in patients with advanced disease

Pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors: study of 266 cases focusing on clinicopathological characteristics, immunophenotype, and prognosis

OBJECTIVE

Pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) consist of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), typical carcinoid (TC), and atypical carcinoid (AC). We aimed to analyze the immunophenotypic, metastatic, and prognostic risk factors for PNETs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 266 patients with PNETs were enrolled, including 219 patients with SCLC, 18 patients with LCNEC, 11 patients with TC, and 18 patients with AC. Clinicopathological characteristics and immunophenotypes were compared among the subtypes of PNETs. Risk factors for metastasis, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed.

RESULTS

Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and the Ki-67 index were significantly different among subtypes of PNETs (all P < 0.05). Smoking (OR, 2.633; P = 0.031), high pretreatment carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA > 5 ng/ml: OR, 3.084; P = 0.014), and poorly differentiated pathotypes (P = 0.001) were independent risk factors for lymph-node metastasis. Smoking (OR, 2.071; P = 0.027) and high pretreatment CEA (OR, 2.260; P = 0.007) were independent risk factors for distant metastasis. Results of the multivariate Cox regression model showed pretreatment CEA (HR, 1.674; P = 0.008) and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) (HR = 0.478, P = 0.007) were significantly associated with PFS; BMI (P = 0.031), lymph-node metastasis (HR = 4.534, P = 0.001), poorly differentiated pathotypes (P = 0.015), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (HR = 2.305, P = 0.004), and LMR (HR = 0.524, P = 0.045) were significantly associated with OS.

CONCLUSIONS

PNETs are a group of highly heterogeneous tumors with different clinical manifestations, pathological features, and prognoses. Knowing clinicopathological characteristics and immunophenotypes of PNETs is significant for diagnosis. Pretreatment PLR, LMR, and CEA have certain value in the prognosis of PNETs.

Differential response in patients with large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung to initial therapy: A case series

BACKGROUND

Large cell neuroendocrine tumors of the lung (LCNEC) are rare. Chemotherapy with the small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) regimen is the most appropriate treatment for LCNEC. However, there is evidence that the non-small cell lung cancer regimen is also effective in some reported cases. Due to the differences in response to LCNEC treatment, a standard of care for LCNEC has not been established.

CASES

The clinical records of nine patients with LCNEC who were treated with anticancer drugs based on an SCLC regimen from March 2016 to March 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients who responded to treatment after one cycle of systemic chemotherapy were compared to those who did not respond. All patients in the responder group had a performance status (PS) of 0 or 1. However, 5 of the 6 patients in the non-responder group had a PS of 2 or 3, indicating that many patients were in poor general condition. Although patients with multiple metastases to more than one organ prior to treatment were not identified in the responder group, five of these patients were in the non-responder group. In the non-responder group, all patients discontinued treatment due to deterioration of general condition during first-line treatment. Thus, none of them were able to start the second-line treatment.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study may suggest that early diagnosis and initiation of treatment before multiple organ metastasis development and PS decline may have clinical implications that could lead to improved treatment response in patients with LCNEC.

Large cell neuroendocrine lung carcinoma: consensus statement from The British Thoracic Oncology Group and the Association of Pulmonary Pathologists

Over the past 10 years, lung cancer clinical and translational research has been characterised by exponential progress, exemplified by the introduction of molecularly targeted therapies, immunotherapy and chemo-immunotherapy combinations to stage III and IV non-small cell lung cancer. Along with squamous and small cell lung cancers, large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) now represents an area of unmet need, particularly hampered by the lack of an encompassing pathological definition that can facilitate real-world and clinical trial progress. The steps we have proposed in this article represent an iterative and rational path forward towards clinical breakthroughs that can be modelled on success in other lung cancer pathologies.

F-FDG Uptake Is Predictive of Poor Survival After Surgery for Large-CellNeuroendocrine-Carcinomas of The Lung: A Bicentric Analysis

Introduction: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) represents a relatively rare and poorly studied entity whose management is not clearly established. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between preoperative 18F-FDG-PET results, pathological features and long-term survival in a large surgical cohort of LCNEC. Methods: From 06/08 to 06/17, the clinical, radiometabolic, pathological and surgical aspects of 121 LCNEC-patients surgically treated in 2 tertiary centers were retrieved. A Cox regression model was used to identify predictors of survival and Kaplan-Meier method to summarize overall survivals. Results: Mean age and male/female ratio were 63.4±8.3 and 3:1, respectively. The main clinical, radiometabolic and surgical characteristics are reported in Tab.1. Most patients were active/former smokers and presented symptoms at diagnosis. 18FDG-PET/Scan was performed in 65 patients (53.7%) with a mean SUVmax of 10.1 (SD±4.6). Higher SUVmax values (SUVmax >10) were detected in tumors with larger size (p=0.004), advanced p-Stages (p=0.019), presenting necrosis (p=0.077) and with positive staining for CD56 (p=0.025) and TTF-1 (0.063). After surgery (R0 in 91% of cases), 52 (43%) patients had pStage-I while about 35% of patients presented with N1-2 disease. Median, 3-yrs and 5-yrs overall survival was 40 months, 52.2% and 44.6%, respectively. At univariate analysis, the survival was significantly influenced by SUVmax values (p=0.009) and by the presence of vascular invasion at pathological examination (p=0.024). Multivariate analysis showed as the FDG-SUVmax was the only independent variable affecting long-term survival (HR:2.86;C.E.: 1.09-7.47;p=0.032). Conclusions: Patients underwent surgical resection for LCNEC of the lung experienced a poor prognosis (5-yrs survival = 44.6% in this study). High-level FDG accumulation (SUVmax >10) correlates with pathological features and results to be independently predictive of poor survival after surgery. This parameter should be taking into account when planning the best strategy of care.