2024 Volume 64 Issue 6 Pages 854-859
Background. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion gene-positive lung cancer is found in approximately 5% of cases of non-small-cell lung cancer, but there are few reports of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) with ALK rearrangement. Case. A 47-year-old woman visited a nearby orthopedic hospital after noticing subcutaneous nodules. A subcutaneous nodule biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of small cell cancer, and she was admitted to our hospital. The diagnosis, based on a whole-body examination, was ALK fusion gene-positive SCLC cT4N3M1c stage IVB. As a first line therapy, she received chemotherapy of cisplatin and etoposide. However, after 1 cycle, her tumor marker levels remained slightly elevated and the tumor did not shrink. After initiating alectinib as a second-line therapy, the patient achieved a significant clinical response. Conclusion. We experienced a case in which ALK fusion gene-positive SCLC was successfully treated with alectinib.
