5 Questions on Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Among patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), what characterizes never smokers? What effect did bevacizumab have when added to standard of care? Test your knowledge in our latest quiz.

Question 1

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Answer

A. 2 to 4 months. From the start of treatment, only about 10% of SCLC patients will remain free of disease at 2 years, according to the National Cancer Institute’s treatment summary on SCLC.

Question 2

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B. Extent of disease. The National Cancer Institute’s treatment summary on SCLC notes that patients with limited-stage disease have a better prognosis than extensive-stage patients. Patients with limited-stage disease have a median survival of 16 to 24 months, and 5-year survival is 14%. Patients with extensive-stage disease have a median survival of 6 to 12 months, and long-term disease-free survival is rare in these patients.

Question 3

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Answer

C. Pravastatin. The study found that although 40-mg pravastatin combined with standard-of-care therapy for SCLC was safe, it did not benefit patients. The results confirmed the conclusions of four smaller trials.

Question 4

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Answer

B. Improved progression-free survival. Median progression-free survival times were 5.7 months in the arm without bevacizumab and 6.7 months in the arm with bevacizumab (P = .030). Although the study did not meet its primary endpoint of overall survival, the authors noted that a significant effect of bevacizumab on overall survival was observed among patients who received maintenance bevacizumab, warranting further research in this setting.

Question 5

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Answer

D. All of the above. Among the never smokers, prognosis was relatively favorable, and overall survival was statistically longer than that of smokers, according to the study. Only one of the eight patients had an EGFR mutation.