Stage IV Large-Cell Neuroendocrine Lung Cancer Controlled for Nearly Four Years With Multiple Treatments
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Biomarkers
- PD-L1 high (TPS 50%) initially; no actionable driver mutation; later PD-L1 5%
- Sex
- female
- Spread to
- liver, bones
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation and palliative care
- Outcome
- In Memory
Treatment course, step by step
- Started platinum-based chemotherapy with camrelizumab and anti-angiogenic therapy and achieved a partial response after 6 cycles.
- Continued maintenance immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic treatment and received palliative radiation for local progression.
- After liver progression, resumed the initial combination with liver-directed therapy and again achieved a partial response.
- Later received additional chemotherapy, immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic combinations as the cancer progressed.
- After brief later chemotherapy, transitioned to hospice care.
What happened, in summary
A 45-year-old woman was diagnosed in early 2021 with Stage IV pulmonary large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma involving the liver and bones. Molecular testing showed high PD-L1 expression at 50% and several genetic alterations, but no actionable driver mutation.
She began a four-drug combination of camrelizumab, endostar, etoposide, and cisplatin and achieved a partial response after 6 cycles. Maintenance immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic treatment followed. When local disease progressed, she received palliative radiation, and later liver progression was treated by restarting the original combination together with liver-directed therapy. She again had a partial response.
Further progression led to several additional regimens, including atezolizumab with bevacizumab and docetaxel, followed by atezolizumab with pemetrexed and anlotinib. After later progression and brief additional chemotherapy, she could not tolerate more treatment and entered hospice. She died on December 13, 2024. Her overall survival reached 47 months, during which several treatment combinations produced periods of disease control.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
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Collections this story belongs to
- Stage 4 Lung Cancer 384 stories
- Chemotherapy for Stage 4 Lung Cancer 217 stories
- Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer 386 stories
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer