Scientists from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have published a molecular atlas of small cell lung cancer, revealing an unusual cell type that could explain why SCLC is so aggressive.
“The most exciting thing we found is a rare population of stem-like cells within these tumors that is closely correlated with patient outcomes,” explained Charles Rudin, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist at MSK who co-led the lung cancer project and a member of LCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board. “The more enriched they are in the tumor, the worse the prognosis.”