Clinicopathological Features in Young Patients Treated for Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Significance of Immunohistological and Molecular Analyses

BackgroundSmall-cell lung cancer in young patients is very rare and has not been adequately described. In addition, malignancies associated with genetic rearrangements of nuclear protein of the testis (NUT) have been reported in young patients.Patients and MethodsWe reviewed the clinical records of patients younger than 40 years of age who had been diagnosed as having SCLC and had been treated for this condition. We also examined NUT rearrangements using immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis.ResultsWe evaluated the diagnoses and treatment outcomes of 8 young patients among 747 SCLC patients. Based on further analyses using IHC staining and FISH, NUT rearrangements were found in 2 of these cases. The range of the overall survival period was 3.6 to 49.7 months. The 2 patients with NUT rearrangements survived for less than 12 months.ConclusionNUT rearrangements were identified in 2 patients who had been previously diagnosed as having SCLC. Further attention regarding the diagnosis of SCLC in young patients is needed.