摘要
BACKGROUND The treatment of small-cell lung cancer(SCLC)has progressed little in recent years because of its unique biological activities and complex genomic alterations.Chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy has been widely accepted as the firstline treatment for SCLC.CASE SUMMARY Here,we present a 68-year-old male smoker who was diagnosed with SCLC of the right lung.After several cycles of concurrent chemoradiotherapy,the tumor progressed with broad metastasis to liver and bone.Histopathological examination showed an obvious transformation to adenocarcinoma,probably a partial recurrence mediated by the chemotherapy-based regimen.A mixed tumor as the primary lesion and transformation from SCLC or/and tumor stem cells may have accounted for the pathology conversion.We adjusted the treatment schedule in accord with the change in phenotype.CONCLUSION Although diffuse skeletal and hepatic metastases were seen on a recent computed tomography scan,the patient is alive,with intervals of progression and shrinkage of his cancer.
