Premium
Clinical relevance of histologic subtyping in small cell lung cancer
Author(s) -
Bepler Gerold,
Neumann Kurt,
Holle Rolf,
Havemann Klaus,
Kalbfleisch Heinrich
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19890701)64:1<74::aid-cncr2820640113>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - subtyping , cell , medicine , large cell , cell type , pathology , lung cancer , lung , survival analysis , oncology , cancer , adenocarcinoma , biology , genetics , computer science , programming language
Histopathologic specimens from 249 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were reviewed and classified into oat cell‐type, pure intermediate cell‐type (excluding specimens with mixed small cell/large cell features), and small cell/large cell‐type. One hundred seventy (68%) specimens displayed oat cell features (including 30 with mixed oat cell/intermediate cell features), 66 (27%) displayed intermediate cell features, and 13 (5%) displayed mixed small cell/large cell features. No differences among these subtypes were found with respect to stage of disease, sex, age, performance status, and number and distribution of metastases. Complete and partial remission rates for the oat cell‐type were, respectively, 31% and 38%, for the intermediate cell‐type 20% and 45%, and for the small cell/large cell‐type 38% and 31%. Two‐year survival rates were 7%, 11%, and 15%, respectively. These data were all statistically insignificant, and comparisons of log‐rank analyses of survival curves for these SCLC subtypes also showed no statistically significant differences. We thus conclude that histologic subtypes of SCLC are not distinct entities of clinical relevance, and that prognostic as well as therapeutic decisions cannot be based on histologic subtyping.