Hi,
Do you know if there has been any research done around the preclinical time of SCLC, that would be the time where the patient has SCLC but nothing can be found clinically, and I suspect the patent would be asymptomatic?
I was reading some information on screening and it talked about the "short preclinical period" of SCLC but didn't elaborate what this meant, as in weeks, months years.
It was a useful article about screening but I would like to understand more about what it calls the short preclinical phase before making any decisions on screening for myself or family members. The debate about screening is a well trodden path but this is the first I have heard about a preclinical phase for SCLC.
http://www.jto.org/article/S1556-0864(15)33401-8/pdf
Thanks You
Ray.
Reply # - May 9, 2017, 08:13 AM
Hi Ray,
Hi Ray,
The use of the term "short preclinical phase" in this context is meant to distinguish the comparatively short time between the first presence of SCLC cells and their clinical manifestations in the form of symptoms, along with distant metastasis, as compared to other lung cancers, which may be present and appear as small nodules prior to metastasis and discernible symptoms.
The study you reference concludes that because that preclinical phase is so short, low-dose screening scans for SCLC are ineffective, as they require subjecting many patients without SCLC to unnecessary scans in order to find one SCLC patient.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - May 9, 2017, 10:17 AM
Hi Jim,
Hi Jim,
I couldn't find much information on this so thank you. As you don't screen for a particular type of lung cancer, I suspect that you might just hit it lucky on finding sclc depending on the when the first sclc cells formed. I have had another look and just wondered how long the preclinical period could be. Would it be less than a year? Just thinking about current screening periods and the impact of more or less frequent scans.
Thank you for replying.
Ray
Reply # - May 9, 2017, 11:18 AM
Hi Ray,
Hi Ray,
I don't know that a specific length of time could be given, but since SCLC tends to grow quickly, I would expect that in most cases the preclinical period would be less than a year. In order to catch SCLC early, you would need very frequent scans, much more frequent than typical screening regimens provide.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - May 9, 2017, 11:34 AM
Hi Jim,
Hi Jim,
It makes sense now and obviously any increase in scans brings in the risk of exposure to radiation and also cost.
Thank you for coming back to me.
Ray