Tag Archive for: small cell lung cancer treatment
Expert Advice for Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer
Expert Advice for Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Dr. Triparna Sen, a leading small cell lung cancer (SCLC) researcher and expert, shares key advice for patients. Dr. Sen stresses the importance of working closely with your doctor, asking about clinical trials options, and the benefits of support groups.
Dr. Triparna Sen is an associate professor in the department of oncological sciences and co-director of the Lung Cancer PDX Platform at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Learn more about Dr. Sen.
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Advances in Small Cell Lung Cancer Research | Hope for the Future |
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Transcript:
Katherine:
What three key pieces of advice would you have for a patient who has just been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer?
Dr. Sen:
First of all, I would like to say definitely, definitely work with your physician. They are trying to do their best for you. Work with your physician. Follow the treatment regimen that they give. Ask about clinical trials that you are eligible for and that you can enroll into. Then, of course, having a support group. So, there are many patient advocacy groups right now for non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.
I think being a part of such a patient advocacy group where you have people going through the same journey, I think, it really helps. It helps you sort of manage your disease better. It helps you stay hopeful when you hear about other people’s sort of prognosis and if they have durable benefits from drugs. So, I think having a support group is very important. If there is an ability for you to contribute to research in terms of giving blood or tissues, if your physician is saying that you could be eligible for that, I think a contribution to research is really key.
Because looking at the disease mechanisms in the clinical tissue is sort of where for us it is absolutely golden. We go there. We look at the disease mechanisms and tissues. If there is an opportunity for you, then I think it should definitely be explored.
Finally, I would like to say we are really trying as researchers to really understand the disease better. We’re trying to do that better. I hope and I pray that we go faster with it. But I think there is hope right now for patients with small cell lung cancer. The research is really progressing better. There are many clinical trials.
So, I think stay hopeful and have a peer support group who can take you through this quite difficult journey.
Katherine:
Why should patients consider consulting with a lung cancer specialist?
Dr. Sen:
I think it’s crucial because these lung cancer specialists really know the current state of the art treatments. They are thought leaders. They participate in trials. They actually sit on advisory boards with companies.
They are strategizing the entire treatment landscape for this disease. So, if you go to a lung cancer specialist, you’re more likely to get the most updated knowledge about what treatments are out there, what you qualify for, what are the clinical trials out there, and what are working in patients. This is not just for small cell. There are many, many trials that are happening in non-small cell also. So, whatever your diagnosis is, a specialist should be able to tell you what your options are. You really want to know about your options. Your options about biomarker testing.
Your options about screening. Your options about trials. I think a lung cancer specialist can really guide you towards that.
Katherine:
Dr. Sen, thank you so much for joining us today. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you.
Dr. Sen:
Thank you.
Advances in Small Cell Lung Cancer Research | Hope for the Future
Advances in Small Cell Lung Cancer Research | Hope for the Future from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
What new treatments are being studied for small cell lung cancer (SCLC)? Dr. Triparna Sen, a leading researcher in the field, shares promising updates, including advances being made with LSD1 inhibitors, DDR (DNA Damage Response) inhibitors, and DLL-3 targeted therapies.
Dr. Triparna Sen is an associate professor in the department of oncological sciences and co-director of the Lung Cancer PDX Platform at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Learn more about Dr. Sen.
See More from Thrive Small Cell Lung Cancer
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Transcript:
Katherine:
Dr. Sen, you are a leading researcher in the field. What is the latest research news that you can share with us about small cell lung cancer?
Dr. Sen:
There’s a lot of great research going on in my lab and labs all across the world. I think for the first time in a very long time, we are really trying to dissect the biology of small cell.
It has been a research in making for many years. I think we have now really come to a point where we are really trying to understand the disease. I’ll go into a little more about the questions you are trying to answer. So, one of the main questions or one of the main things that kind of is a hurdle to getting durable treatment options is that the frontline chemotherapy and immunotherapy doesn’t work as well as they should even for the approved regimens, which is the chemotherapy and the immunotherapy.
The patients often do not have durable benefits. Even if patients have durable benefits, it’s only in a very minority of patient population which means in only about 10 to 15 percent of the total patient population actually do have any benefit from the frontline treatment. So, the main question that we are trying to answer is that why do these patients not respond to immunotherapy and chemotherapy in the frontline.
What are the mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy? Primary resistance, what I mean by primary resistance is that patients who never respond. The disease comes back even while they’re getting the frontline chemo. So, the primary resistance, the mechanisms. Of course, when they have acquired resistance after the maintenance regimen when they come back, why are these patients having this acquired resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy? Because only when we understand resistance mechanisms will we be able to then come to the combination strategies.
That’s the next area of research is that once we understand the mechanism of chemotherapy and immunotherapy resistance is then coming up with effective combination therapy. So, what should we combine with immunotherapy in order to make immunotherapy better? I’ll give you an example from the research that we did.
So, our lab focus is, as I said, on making immunotherapy better. What we understood is that there are certain epigenetic modifiers like LSD1.
Repressing these, repressing LSD1, with a small molecule inhibitor actually augments or benefits the response to immunotherapy. So now, we are looking at LSD1 inhibitors in combination with immunotherapy. That’s one area that we are focusing on. The second are that we published extensively on is DNA damage response inhibitors which really works in combination with immunotherapy and makes immunotherapy response better.
Now, we are investigating that in the lab the combination strategies of combining these DNA damage response inhibitors with immunotherapy. So, combination strategies. I think always coming up with novel targets. I will mention there are many novel targets that are right now in the clinical trials actually showing really, really encouraging data.
I’m talking about DLL3 targeted BiTEs or ADCs we have seen that are showing preliminary data. We have seen a really good really good response in patients. So, finding these targets that are very specific for small cell and that can work in these unique population of patients.
So, DLL3 targeted agents. There are agents that target B7-H3. So, we are looking at these novel targets and where they could fit in the current therapeutic regimen. Finally, since small cell lung cancer is not a surgical disease, we have to look for other options to find biomarkers. So, liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsy, what I mean by that is understanding the disease not just from tissue but also from blood.
There’s a lot of research that’s happening in understanding the biology of small cell from blood draws from these patients.
So, the field of using liquid biopsy or understanding the disease from blood draws is one of the areas that many labs, including ours, are focusing on, and how we can utilize these blood samples to then monitor the disease and also understand the resistance mechanisms to various drugs. I think these are the areas that we are investigating and seems, to me, very important areas that we need to address in order to really manage small cell lung cancer.
Katherine:
What do these advances mean for small cell lung cancer patients? Are you hopeful?
Dr. Sen:
Oh, yes. Of course. We’re always hopeful. That’s the goal, right. The goal is to have effective therapies that work and that works for a long time. That also benefits the patients in terms of quality of life which means without very severe adverse effects.
So, very hopeful. Because I think what was limiting us for all those years for the last 40 to 50 years is that we really did not understand the complexity of small cell lung cancer. It is a very complex disease. It is very different from non-small cell lung cancer which has these mutations that you can target drugs against. So, there are this EGFR mutations and KRAS mutations in non-small cell.
But small cell, it’s not that. It is not a disease where we have these GATA function mutations that we can devise therapies against. It’s a very different disease. The disease is aggressive. The disease progresses fast, and it also changes its physiology very fast. So, I think for the first time, we really are trying to understand the biology. What that helps is then to come with very informed decisions about therapy.
So, yeah, I’m very hopeful. Because I think we have now targets that we are actually seeing benefits in patients. I think the more and more we understand resistance mechanisms, we’ll also be able to manage that better.
Katherine:
That’s very promising news.
Understanding Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment Options
Understanding Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment Options from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
How is small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treated? Dr. Triparna Sen discusses treatment options for patients with small cell lung cancer, both first-line and second-line therapies, and the important role of clinical trials in patient care.
Dr. Triparna Sen is an associate professor in the department of oncological sciences and co-director of the Lung Cancer PDX Platform at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Learn more about Dr. Sen.
See More from Thrive Small Cell Lung Cancer
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Advances in Small Cell Lung Cancer Research | Hope for the Future |
Transcript:
Katherine:
How do test results impact care?
Dr. Sen:
So, you know, once the doctor has confirmed the small cell lung cancer and we have confirmed what stage it is at – what I mean by staging is that it could be either a limited stage disease which is an early stage small cell, or it could be an extensive stage of small cell. The treatment for those two are quite different. So, if it is an early stage or limited stage, patients are usually treated with chemoradiation. If it is an extensive stage or a metastatic small cell, then patients are usually given a standard of care which is chemotherapy in culmination with immunotherapy which is an antibody against PD-L1.
Katherine:
You’re talking about treatment options that are currently available for small cell lung cancer. What about targeted therapies?
Dr. Sen:
There aren’t very many therapeutic strategies that are targeted therapies as we speak like we hear from non-small cell lung cancer.
So currently, like I mentioned, the frontline treatment for small cell lung cancer is with chemotherapy and immunotherapy and maintenance with immunotherapy alone.
Once the patient relapses, which often is the case – all patients actually have resistance to the frontline chemo-io (chemoimmunotherapy) at some point in time. Once they have a relapse disease, the second line of therapy until now is with either topotecan or irinotecan which are two topoisomerase inhibitors or with lurbinectedin which is in the second line.
So, when it comes to targeted therapies, so far we a have seen, you know, the conventional way that we think about EGFR inhibitors or KRAS inhibitors, it hasn’t been the case so far with small cell lung cancer. It’s very limited in the current approved setting. But there are many clinical trials that are investigating several targeted therapies that are either targeting – I can speak about that more as I talk about research strategy. But there are many targeted agents that are targeting surface targets like DLL3, B7-H3, or SEZ6. There are other targets that are targeting things like DNA damage repair, proteins, or epigenetic regulators like LSD1. But so far in the approved setting, it is quite limited.
Katherine:
When we look at what therapies are available, what treatment options are available, what are some typical side effects? How are they managed?
Dr. Sen:
Some of the major side effects that you see, especially with a frontline chemo-io (chemoimmunotherapy), are very common like you see with other cancer types. Also, it’s usually myelosuppression.
I think it is prevented or is managed either by dose reduction or treatment delays or treated with transfusion. There has been research that CDK4/6 inhibitors, trilaciclib, when treated with in combination with chemotherapy can bring down the side effects that we see with chemotherapy.
Some of the immunotherapy related adverse events includes pneumonitis, colitis. They are usually treated with early steroids, treatment withholding, and also it could be leading to permanent discontinuation of the treatment if the adverse events are really severe. Those are mainly what we see we the chemo-io (chemoimmunotherapy) regimen that is given up front.
Katherine:
Okay. What questions should someone be asking about their proposed treatment plan?
Dr. Sen:
Right. So, I think, of course, first is what stage. The treatment will depend upon the stage of small cell. Usually, on the frontline, everyone is given chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
It’s a systemic therapy that’s being given. But I think the patient should be asking questions like are there clinical trials available for me. Because there are multiple clinical trials right now in the frontline and the second line setting.
So, I think definitely the patient should ask about the clinical trials that the qualify for. In terms of contributing to research, I think if there are options for them to either sign up for blood collection protocol or for tissue collection protocol, I think the patient should definitely enroll for that.
Because that really helps our research strategy. But in terms of treatment, I think they should ask about available clinical trials that they qualify for.
Katherine:
Let’s turn to clinical trials then. Patient participation, of course, is essential to finding new and better treatments. What would you say to someone who’s hesitant to participate in a clinical trial?
Dr. Sen:
Yes. I mean, that’s often the thing. We hear about these novel drugs. They’re in trial. For a disease that’s that aggressive, I think once there is a relapse, I think clinical trials could be a very good option for patients. These are novel drugs that have come out of very robust research that we do in the lab. They can often work quite a bit. So, I think, of course, talk to your physicians. Talk to them at length about whether you do qualify for it. But if there is a trial at the center that you’re getting treated at and if the doctor advises that, I think enrolling in a clinical trial could be a very good option for patients, especially in the aggressive setting where there are not many options available for patients.
As I mentioned here, research is my true north. I mean, all my lab does is understanding the biology of small cell. It’s extremely essential that we actually try to get the knowledge of the patient tumor. So, if you have availability of contributing either in terms of tissue or blood to research, I think I would advise and encourage patients to definitely contribute to that.
Essential Small Cell Lung Cancer Testing
Essential Small Cell Lung Cancer Testing from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
What tests are essential for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC)? Dr. Triparna Sen defines small cell lung cancer and reviews the testing that should take place following a diagnosis.
Dr. Triparna Sen is an associate professor in the department of oncological sciences and co-director of the Lung Cancer PDX Platform at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Learn more about Dr. Sen.
See More from Thrive Small Cell Lung Cancer
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Advances in Small Cell Lung Cancer Research | Hope for the Future |
Transcript:
Dr. Sen:
I’m Dr. Triparna Sen. I’m an associate professor at the Icahn School of Medicine. I’m also the co-director of the Lung Cancer PDX program here at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. I am the lead of a very translational research laboratory. Our goal is to find novel and effective therapeutic strategies for patients with lung cancer.
Katherine:
Thank you for that. We’re so glad to have you with us today. Would you define small cell lung cancer for our audience?
Dr. Sen:
Of course. So, one of the main research areas in my lab is to try to understand the biology of this very aggressive form of lung cancer. Having said that, as you all may be aware that lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related mortality.
Lung cancer can be of two types, non-small cell and small cell. So, small cell is a very high-grade neuroendocrine tumor. And it is a very aggressive tumor.
The name is derived because the size of the cells that you see under the microscope is very small. So, it was originally called old cell carcinoma, and now it is called small cell lung cancer. What you need to remember about this disease is that it is about 15 percent of lung cancer diagnosis. It is very highly metastatic. It is often associated with a long history of smoking.
Katherine:
Okay. What testing should take place following a diagnosis of small cell lung cancer?
Dr. Sen:
The symptoms can include various things like coughing, labored breathing, or even bleeding during coughing. What happens then is the initial diagnosis actually happens through some sort of contrast enhanced CT or PET CT. Also, a confirmatory test that happens through immunohistochemistry with H&E. That is how we look at the histopathological features of the cancer. So once it is confirmed to be small cell lung cancer, then additional tests may happen through tumor biopsy where the doctor then confirms the stage of the tumor and how much the disease has spread.
So, there may be biopsies taken from the lung and from other regions of the body to determine how much the disease has spread.
Small Cell Lung Cancer Care | Optimizing Team Communication
Small Cell Lung Cancer Care | Optimizing Team Communication from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
How can small cell lung cancer team communication be optimized? Expert Beth Sandy from Abramson Cancer Center shares advice for communication between care team members and for setting expectations about symptom management and treatment plans.
[ACT]IVATION TIP
“…don’t feel afraid or scared to ask the questions that you want the answers to. And if you do, it’s okay to change providers, to be honest with you, because you should have that level of trust and ability to be open with your provider.”
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How Can Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Ask About Care Goals |
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Transcript:
Lisa Hatfield:
So, Beth, how do you facilitate open and transparent communication between oncology nurses, patients, and their families and care partners to address concerns and set realistic expectations to ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding the symptom management and treatment plans?
Beth Sandy:
Yeah. So again, this is something that happens over time and I think it’s really important for patients to feel comfortable with their providers. If you don’t feel that you can ask your doctor or your nurse practitioner or your nurse, whoever you’re seeing, if you don’t feel comfortable that you can ask questions about your treatment and your disease, that’s a problem. You should have a good relationship with them. I feel like us in oncology as opposed to other fields like dermatology or whatever, I think we have a more personal relationship with them because this is a disease that often they’re dealing with for a long time and we want to make sure that we’re doing what’s best for them, what’s best for the patient.
So sometimes for me, again, I’ll say, how are you tolerating the treatment? Are you in bed a lot at home? Or are you feeling pretty good on the treatment? And then a lot of that too will partially be, well, the treatment is working very well. Are you willing to stay on it based on the side effects you’re having? But for me, it’s so much easier if the patient starts the conversation and says something along the lines of like, “I’m not tolerating this well, I’m not feeling well. Is there something more we can do? Or can we give less chemo?” Patients ask me that all the time.
And then we have a discussion about the pros and cons of that. So everything’s a discussion. Oncology is not black and white. There is gray area that we can work with you to improve your quality and be open about how much you want to know. Do you want to know exact numbers of your chances of survival? Do you want to know exact numbers of exactly how often this exact chemo works for other patients? We can give you those, but we don’t have to. So we really want to, for the most part, always instill hope, because I’ve seen lots and lots of miracles and great stories with patients who have done way better than I ever thought they would. So I would hate to say to someone, oh, this is the average when lots of my patients will do better than that.
So I think my activation tip here is don’t feel afraid or scared to ask the questions that you want the answers to. And if you do, it’s okay to change providers, to be honest with you, because you should have that level of trust and ability to be open with your provider.
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Coping With Small Cell Lung Cancer Rapid Treatment
Coping With Small Cell Lung Cancer Rapid Treatment from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Small cell lung cancer treatment often must start quickly following diagnosis, so what should patients know? Expert Beth Sandy from Abramson Cancer Center explains the importance of rapid treatment and shares advice to help ensure optimal patient care.
[ACT]IVATION TIP
“…if you are short of breath or coughing, get to the doctor…If it’s more than a week and over-the-counter medications aren’t helping, go and get worked up because this is very much a curable illness if we can catch it early. So we want to catch this as early as we can, but you have to get to the doctor and get that workup going…if you are diagnosed with this, make sure that your doctor or when you’re calling in to get a new patient appointment, they know this is small cell, not non-small cell. This is small cell lung cancer. It’s a more aggressive type, and you should be seen immediately very quickly to get started on therapy.”
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How Can Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Ask About Care Goals |
Transcript:
Lisa Hatfield:
So, Beth, small cell lung cancer spreads quickly, so treatment often needs to start right away. How do you help your patients and their loved ones cope with the rapid changes in their health, both physically and emotionally, and the quick start of the intense treatment they’ll receive?
Beth Sandy:
I can’t stress this enough. As soon as someone is developing symptoms of shortness of breath or a cough, it’s really important to get to the doctor because this type of lung cancer can spread very quickly, but you may not even know you have this. So if you have a cough or shortness of breath, it’s important to get to the doctor. Getting a chest X-ray is really easy. It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s fast, and it’s something that will show this. Almost nine times out of 10 is going to show if you have this type of lung cancer on just the chest X-ray. So it’s important to get your workup very quickly. That’s the first thing I’ll say.
Once you’re diagnosed with extensive stage small cell lung cancer, it’s very important that you are treated quickly. In my office, if you call and you have this diagnosis, we see you within seven days. This is not something…whereas other cancers, if there’s longer than a seven-day wait, they may get pushed the following week. This is a patient that we will see within the week, because it’s important to get them treated right away. A part of that is because they respond so well. Treatments for small cell lung cancer work very well, especially early on, so we need to get those treatments going very quickly because like you said, this is a very rapidly progressing disease. So I think my activation tip really here for this question is…
Well, two, I have two activations, but the first one is if you are short of breath or coughing, get to the doctor. Don’t just say, “Oh, it’s probably my allergies.” If it’s more than a week and over-the-counter medications aren’t helping, go and get worked up because this is very much a curable illness if we can catch it early. So we want to catch this as early as we can, but you have to get to the doctor and get that workup going. My second activation tip is, like I said, for sure if you are diagnosed with this, make sure that your doctor or when you’re calling in to get a new patient appointment, they know this is small cell, not non-small cell. This is small cell lung cancer. It’s a more aggressive type, and you should be seen immediately very quickly to get started on therapy.
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Understanding Small Cell Lung Cancer Research News and Future Treatments
Understanding Small Cell Lung Cancer Research News and Future Treatments from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
What do small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment and the future of treatment look like? Expert Dr. Vinicius Ernani from the Mayo Clinic discusses SCLC treatment progress and small cell lung cancer clinical trials including the DeLLphi trial.
[ACT]IVATION TIP
“I think stay tuned. This tarlatamab might become, down the road, a new standard of care for our patients.”
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Advice for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Considering Clinical Trials |
Transcript:
Lisa Hatfield:
And, Dr. Ernani, can you please explain research advancements in immuno-oncology and what this means for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer patients? And how do you envision the treatment landscape evolving over the next five to 10 years?
Dr. Vinicius Ernani:
Yes. So over the last 30 years, we’ve had multiple Phase II, Phase III trials and, unfortunately, we were not able to move the needle in small cell lung cancer. However, over the last few years with the advancement of immunotherapy and incorporating immunotherapy to the standard carboplatin (Paraplatin) and etoposide (Toposar), we were able to finally make some progress in small cell lung cancer.
So now we know that the standard of care is to give chemotherapy plus immunotherapy, and we have at least three to four randomized Phase III trials showing the benefit of adding immunotherapy to chemotherapy. And I think this is a very exciting time for small cell. We are seeing at least over the last couple of meetings, over the last year, I’ve been seeing at least two promising drugs.
One is tarlatamab that was the Phase II studies called the DeLLphi trial, was recently presented at ESMO. And there’s also an antibody drug conjugate that has also been very promising in small cell. So we’ll see how these studies are going to play out, especially the antibody drug conjugate, that’s still a Phase I study. So it’s a little bit early, but encouraging response rates. And the tarlatamab, which is a BiTE, and what I mean by BiTE, is a bi T-cell specific engager. I think it’s probably going to be soon approved by the FDA, and I think it’s going to change the standard of care in small cell again.
Lisa Hatfield:
Dr. Ernani, with regard to the DeLLphi trial, can you explain who that is for and more specifically maybe what the hope is for patients and their families?
Dr. Vinicius Ernani:
Yeah. So the DeLLphi trial was a Phase II study. So usually we have three types of study, right? First, we have the Phase I study. Phase I studies are usually looking at how safe is a drug, but we are not looking too much of how active the drug is. We’re just making sure that the drug is safe to give to the patients. A Phase II study is a little bit bigger than a Phase I, and we are looking still at safety, if the treatment is safe, but we are trying to look a little bit more careful and how active this drug is.
In Phase III, those are usually big studies that randomizes 200, 300, 400 patients to the standard of care compared to the new drug. And that’s usually where we get the FDA approvals. So the DeLLphi-301 trial was a Phase II study that enrolled patients with heavily pretreated small cell lung cancer, extensive stage small cell lung cancer, to receive tarlatamab.
And they had two doses. It was 10 milligrams and 100 milligrams. And it seems that the 10 milligram cohort, that actually the responses were even better than the 100 milligrams. So we saw the presentation at ESMO, it was actually published in one of the most respected…probably the most respected journal of medicine, the New England Journal of Medicine, and there was a response rate of 40 percent. So if we could give tarlatamab for patients that fail at least two lines of treatment, the chances of them responding to tarlatamab is about 40 percent.
And more importantly, I think that the duration of response was greater than six months. So what I mean by that, more than 50 percent of the patients that received this drug, they controlled the cancer for at least six months. So I think that’s a very positive about this drug.
Lisa Hatfield:
Great, thank you. And then one follow-up question I have about that. So if a patient were to come to you or go to their local oncologist and say, I’m really interested, I heard about this DeLLphi trial or any clinical trial, what is the advice you would give to that patient on how to access that clinical trial?
Dr. Vinicius Ernani:
Well, unfortunately, we don’t have at our institution, what I usually help my patients, I go to clinicaltrials.gov and I type their cancer, and I go over with them on where the trials are open, and we try to find a facility or a cancer center that is close to where they live. So that’s what I usually do when I’m trying to find a clinical trial that I don’t have available in my site.
My activation tip for this question is, again, I think stay tuned. This tarlatamab might become, down the road, a new standard of care for our patients.
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Starting Time-Sensitive Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment
Starting Time-Sensitive Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Some small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment calls for time-sensitive treatment. Expert Dr. Vinicius Ernani from the Mayo Clinic shares how he works with patients who will most likely have optimal results with prompt treatment and advice for patients considering rapid treatment.
[ACT]IVATION TIP
“…at least give the treatment a try. I think that you’re going to be positively surprised that you’re going to feel better within a few weeks.”
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Key Resources for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients and Families |
Transcript:
Lisa Hatfield:
Dr. Ernani, for some small cell lung cancer patients, understanding treatment options is crucial and sometimes requires swift decisions. How do you work with your patients and families to make treatment decisions that might have to be made rather rapidly?
Dr. Vinicius Ernani:
Well, small cell, as we know, it’s an aggressive type of cancer, it divides very quickly. And because of that the patients usually, they tend to be symptomatic, so they have a lot of symptoms at the time that we see them. And if this disease, if we left untreated and the patient has extensive stage, so the disease has spread, the prognosis can be poor.
That being said, because small cell divides very quickly, chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy can help these patients fairly quickly. We can see patients in a matter of two to three weeks, they report that their shortness of breath is much better, they’re feeling better, they’re more energetic, they can do more things at home.
So we can see a rapid positive response to treatment very quickly. So when I explain this to my patients, most of the patients, they have no hesitation to say, yeah, I want to proceed with chemotherapy. And I tell them chemotherapy will help you feel better and also help you survive longer. And we are very fortunate that sometimes the patients are able to live years, they’re able to meet some live, let’s say, like a wedding of a grandkid or important events in their life. So I always recommend them to at least give it a shot.
My activation tip for this question is at least give the treatment a try. I think that you’re going to be positively surprised that you’re going to feel better within a few weeks.
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Battling Small Cell Lung Cancer | One Man’s Journey
Battling Small Cell Lung Cancer | One Man’s Journey from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Terrence’s diagnosis with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) came as a shock. He learned the value of a positive attitude and how “just as in battle, I understood early on that a solid partnership with my healthcare team would be crucial to my outcome.” He shares his perspective, lessons learned, and how to stay [ACT]IVATED in your care.
Disclaimer: Thank you to small cell lung cancer expert Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila, PEN’s Empowerment Leads, patients, and care partners for reviewing and collaborating on this video. This video has been edited to protect the privacy of certain individuals, and the names and identifying details have been changed.
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Transcript:
My name is Terrence, and I’m living with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This diagnosis came as a shock, but I decided to persevere and fight. Cancer care can feel like a marathon, and certainly not a sprint – particularly for patients like me. As a small cell lung cancer survivor, I want to share my perspective and lessons learned from my cancer journey about staying ACTIVATED in your care.
My symptoms started with a cough that wouldn’t go away. As a military veteran, I assumed the cough was something I picked up years earlier. And even though I had been a smoker, my doctor didn’t order any scans as a pre-emptive screening measure, nor did I know what questions to ask. It wasn’t until I found a lump under my arm that further testing was done. It was at that time that I also put the other pieces of the puzzle together, which included symptoms of higher than normal blood pressure and knee pain.
I received chemotherapy and radiation, and also quickly learned that despite the challenges of treating my cancer, maintaining a positive attitude was the most critical part of my regimen. I was fortunate to have a medical team that listened to me and didn’t dismiss my concerns. Just as in battle, I understood early on that a solid partnership with my healthcare team would be crucial to my outcome.
Under the care of my healthcare team, I continue to receive scans of my lungs and brain every three months and feel grateful to be doing well. My care team and I also actively look for clinical trials that may be right for me. I urge other small cell lung cancer patients to ask your care team questions to learn about treatment options and what to expect during and after treatment – you matter.
For the past decade, there have been a lot of research advancements about non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment, but our small cell lung community is feeling left out of conversations about investments to improve lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. The SCLC patient community also deserves improvements in care and treatment. Fortunately, things are changing. Progress in personalized medicine has allowed scientists to develop targeted therapies tailored to a patient’s body using their genes to prevent, diagnose, or treat an underlying disease. Clinical trials are one opportunity to be on the ground floor of these developments where you may be able to get tomorrow’s medicine today. I hope sharing my perspective will make a difference for others.
While the battle ahead has uncertainties, stay [ACT]IVATED with these tips:
- Don’t allow stigmas to keep you from getting the best care, now is the time to get the right care no matter how you got the cancer.
- Ask your care team questions to learn about small cell lung cancer treatment options and what to expect during and after treatment.
- Ask if a clinical trial may be a potential treatment option for you.
- Stay abreast of small cell lung cancer treatment options and research advancements.
Whether it’s combat in war or fighting cancer, no matter who you are, take it from me, attitude is everything. Stay [ACT]IVATED by being informed, empowered, and engaged in your small cell lung cancer care.
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Moving Past Small Cell Lung Cancer Stigma | A Patient Navigator Explains
Moving Past Small Cell Lung Cancer Stigma | A Patient Navigator Explains from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Diana is a patient navigator who assists small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients from the stages of screening through follow-up care. Diana explains SCLC risk factors, patients commonly diagnosed with extensive stage SCLC, and barriers to care. She shares the origin of some stigma about lung cancer. “Past TV ads to stop smoking built a stigma around cigarette smoking that has created an environment of blame around lung cancer.” She discusses how patients can stay [ACT]IVATED in their care and in improving future treatments.
Disclaimer: Thank you to small cell lung cancer expert Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila, PEN’s Empowerment Leads, patients, and care partners for reviewing and collaborating on this video. This video has been edited to protect the privacy of certain individuals, and the names and identifying details have been changed.
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Transcript:
My name is Diana, I’m a patient navigator. I help patients navigate screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care for small cell lung cancer.
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) makes up about 15 percent of lung cancer in the U.S. Many of these patients are diagnosed with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Though being a current or former smoker increases the risk of SCLC, patients who were exposed to secondhand smoke, workplace carcinogens, environmental pollution, or other factors are also at-risk for SCLC.
Even though smoking is a major risk factor for SCLC, nobody deserves to get cancer. Nicotine is an addictive substance that is extremely difficult for many smokers to quit – especially for those who started at a very young age. Past TV ads to stop smoking built a stigma around cigarette smoking that has created an environment of blame around lung cancer. The stigma is many times greater for extensive stage small cell lung cancer patients.
Patients diagnosed with SCLC can come from a variety of ethnic, racial, and social classes. However, patients from underrepresented communities of Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), low socioeconomic, and LGBTQ+ groups often take on the brunt of inequitable care in the form of limited access to quality care, lack of healthcare insurance, and other barriers to care.
Remember that you are the patient, and you have a choice in your treatment options depending on your goals for treatment and quality of life – no matter how you got the cancer. So stay encouraged as investments in SCLC research continue to fuel hope.
My [ACT]IVATION tips are:
- Make sure you have a full picture of available treatment options.
- Help educate others to raise awareness of SCLC; advocate for improved care.
- Inquire about small cell lung cancer clinical trials to help researchers discover new and refined treatments.
With these [ACT]IVATION tips in mind, remember, as a patient staying ACTIVATED in your cancer care is essential to becoming informed, empowered, and engaged in your care.
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