Biology of Small cell lung cancer: State of art and novel perspectives

Abstract

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly proliferative lung cancer that is not amenable to surgery in most cases due to the high metastatic potential. Precision medicine has not yet improved patients’ survival due to the lack of actionable mutations. Intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity allow the neoplasms to adapt to various microenvironments and treatments. Further studying this heterogeneous cancer might yield the discovery of actionable mutations. First-line SCLC treatment has added immunotherapy to its armamentarium. There has been renewed interest in SCLC, and numerous clinical trials are underway with novel therapeutic approaches. Understanding the molecular and genetic landscape of this heterogeneous and lethal disease will pave the way for novel drug development.