Should large cell neuroendocrine lung carcinoma be classified and treated as a small cell lung cancer or with other large cell carcinomas?

BACKGROUND: To compare the presenting and prognostic characteristics of patients with large cell neuroendocrine lung cancer (LCNELC) with those of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) or other large cell carcinomas (OLCs) and to compare overall survival (OS) and lung cancer-specific survival (LCSS) rates for patients undergoing definitive resection without radiotherapy (S-NoRT). METHODS: The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Database-17 from 2001 to 2007 was used. Differences between population characteristics were compared using χ(2) and Wilcoxon tests. The log-rank test and Cox models were used to compare differences in OS and LCSS. RESULTS: There were 1211 patients with LCNELC (324 in the S-NoRT group), 8295 patients with OLC (1120 S-NoRT), and 35,304 patients with SCLC (355 S-NoRT). The proportion of all large cell carcinomas constituted by LCNELC increased from 8 to 21% during the study period; and the proportion of patients with large cell carcinoma undergoing S-NoRT increased from 16 to 26%. Presenting and histopathologic characteristics and treatment factors of patients undergoing S-NoRT for patients with LCNELC were more similar to those of patients with OLC than to those with SCLC. OS and LCSS rates for patients with LCNELC undergoing resection without radiation were similar to those of patients with OLC and better than those for patients with SCLC, but the differences were not statistically significant on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical, histopathologic, and biologic features of LCNELC are more similar to OLC than to SCLC. Therefore, LCNELC should continue to be classified and treated as a large cell carcinoma.

Failure rates and patterns of recurrence in patients with resected N1 non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To examine the local and distant recurrence rates and patterns of failure in patients undergoing potentially curative resection of N1 non-small-cell lung cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The study included 60 consecutive unirradiated patients treated from 2000 to 2006. Median follow-up was 30 months. Failure rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. A univariate Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess factors associated with recurrence. RESULTS: Local and distant failure rates (as the first site of failure) at 2, 3, and 5 years were 33%, 33%, and 46%; and 26%, 26%, and 32%, respectively. The most common site of local failure was in the mediastinum; 12 of 18 local recurrences would have been included within proposed postoperative radiotherapy fields. Patients who received chemotherapy were found to be at increased risk of local failure, whereas those who underwent pneumonectomy or who had more positive nodes had significantly increased risks of distant failure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with resected non-small-cell lung cancer who have N1 disease are at substantial risk of local recurrence as the first site of relapse, which is greater than the risk of distant failure. The role of postoperative radiotherapy in such patients should be revisited in the era of adjuvant chemotherapy.