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Pathology of Small Cell Carcinoma of The Lung and Its Subtypes. A Clinico-Pathologic Correlation

1981; Springer Science+Business Media; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-94-009-8207-9_10

2509-8497

Mary J. Matthews, Adi F. Gazdar,

Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Advances

Remarkable strides have been made in the past several years in our understanding of the clinical behavior, pathology and cell biology of small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL). An increasing number of patients with this disease, treated by multiple variable modalities, have had prolonged disease free survivals and may be considered potentially cured [1–4]. Pathologists have come to appreciate the diverse nature of this tumor. A remarkable degree of consistency in diagnosis of lung cancer has become possible among pathologists who accept basic morphologic criteria of lung cancer types. In spite of this, a small percentage of SCCL tumors provoke widely disparate diagnoses. This has been particularly true of tumors which, although predominantly small cell in type, show features of anaplastic large cell malignancies. There is an awareness, also, that morphologic changes can occur in these tumors following chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Changes not only in the histologic subtyping but in the histologic typing of the tumor have been observed in posttherapeutic biopsy and autopsy materials [5–9]. Biochemical markers produced by the tumors can be identified and quantified [10–12]. Evidence suggests that biochemical markers may be lost, in vivo, following therapy and that the loss may correspond to alterations in the morphology of the tumor [9]. Similar markers may be found in cell cultures or nude mice hete-rotransplants of these tumors [13]. Alterations in morphology and loss of biochemical markers are being observed in small cell tumors following multiple passages of the tumor through nude mice [14].