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One subtype of lung cancer that we haven’t specifically talked about is called a Pancoast tumor, named for the doctor who first described them. A...

Despite the fact that a very significant proportion of the "real world" patients have considerable medical problems such as markedly decreased lung...

As a follow-up to my last post and an end to this extended discusison of locally advanced NSCLC before moving to other topics, I'll just cover some...

The last topic in our discussion of the evolving field of optimal treatment for locally advanced NSCLC is the potential role for induction...

My last post included studies that demonstrated no additional benefit from giving chemo after concurrent chemo/radiation for locally advanced NSCLC...

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RECENT POSTS

Pain from Bone Metastases: Treatment Approaches, Focusing on Radiation

Article

We've established that bone metastases are common, and now we'll talk about approaches to manage pain that often accompanies them. As I mentioned previously, sometimes a metastases occurs in a weight-bearing bone, in which case we often recommend a prophylactic surgical procedure to stabilize the bone at risk for fracture. Radiation can also reduce the risk for fracture and improve pain.

Aggressive Chemoradiation for Unresectable Stage III NSCLC: A Double-Edged Sword

Article

As I noted in prior posts on the subject of unresectable stage III NSCLC, there is a general consensus that overlapping chemo and radiation is associated with better cure rates for this stage of locally advanced NSCLC than doing one followed by the other. At the same time, however, the overlapping, or concurrent chemo and radiation approach is associated with more challenges in terms of side effects, particularly esophagitis, as well as greater drops in blood counts, and potentially more inflammation in the lungs, or pneumonitis.

Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation for SCLC

Article

Prophylactic cranial irradiation, or PCI, for SCLC, usually limited disease (LD-SCLC), remains a controversial issue, although this is generally recommended for patients with LD-SCLC who have a complete response to treatment (no evidence of disease). However, the idea of radiating the brain of someone who has no evidence of cancer there and may never get it is something that many patients and also some oncologists (radiation oncologists and medical oncologists) may not embrace.

Current Standards of Care for Limited Disease SCLC

Article

While SCLC accounts for only about 13% of lung cancer, and only approximately one third of patients with SCLC have limited disease SCLC (LD-SCLC), this remains a high stakes area with the potential for being cured, so it needs to be treated as optimally as possible. I'm going to give a brief history and highlight some of the current principles of what has developed as the current standard of care.

Small Cell Lung Cancer 101: An Introduction

Article

After several weeks of posts on other aspects of lung cancer, I am long overdue to write on small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Although it is good to see the number of SCLC cases decreasing over time, and becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of lung cancer cases overall (only about 13% in the US and steadily falling), this has translated into fewer clinical trials and less of a focus on SCLC in the lung cancer community. However, there are some promising developments that may lead to some long overdue progress in the field.

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