Find Effective Drugs before Starting the Therapy!

No two cancer therapies are the same!

There is a wide range of different drugs which can be applied in treatment of small-cell lung cancer. Which medication should be prescribed depends on different factors, e.g. the cancer stage and the general condition of the patient. In order to choose the right therapy there are medical guidelines for physicians. However, in some situations the guidelines do not give clear recommendations and propose equivalent treatment options.


Diagnostic assays can help to identify effective and ineffective drugs before the start of a therapy. The available spectrum of therapeutics can thereby be limited on the most promising substances. Our diagnostics contribute avoidance of unnecessary side effects as a consequence of an ineffective therapy and save valuable treatment time. Therefore we offer the following diagnostic tests:



  • CTR-Test® - An efficacy test working on living tumor cells

  • PCDx™ - A tumor-biomarker-analysis working on non-living, conserved tumor cells

  • Guardant360® - A tumor-biomarker-analysis working with blood


Guidelines for the Treatment of Small-Cell Lung Cancer


Hereafter you can find an overview about guideline-recommendations, which are elaborated by medical specialist associations:


There are two different types of lung cancer to be distinguished: the small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).



Small-cell lung cancer is classified into four stages. For the first three stages the therapy is a curative one, which aims for a complete cure. In the fourth stage the therapy concentrates on an improvement of quality of life. Therapy options vary according to the cancer stage.


Stage I-II (curative)
cisplatin + etoposide
Stage III (curative)
cisplatin + etoposide
Stage IV (palliative)
cisplatin + etoposide
carboplatin + etoposide
in presence of contraindications against etoposidecisplatin + irinotecan
carboplatin + irinotecan
1. recurrencedoxorubicin + cyclophosphamide + vincristine
topotecan
2. recurrencecarboplatin + paclitaxel
paclitaxel
therapy containing irinotecan
poor health conditionmonochemotherapy (various substances)

This table is based on the "Leitlinie Lungenkarzinom, kleinzellig (SCLC)", issued by the German Society for Haematology and Medical Oncology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hämatologie und Medizinische Onkologie e.V., DGHO), published on onkopedia.de [3].


Efficacy Tests of Drugs for Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Which drugs can be tested in their efficacy by our diagnostic tests? The following tables give you information on the substances recommended by the guidelines, but also about further drugs which can be found as additional treatment options in literature.

In addition the frequently used combination therapies are listed below.

The testabilities for the CTR-Test®  and the PCDx™ are also given.

Chemotherapeutics

substance name

efficacy testable by

CTR-Test Logo

efficacy testable by

PCDx Logo

efficacy testable by

Guardant360 Logo

Referenz
carboplatinyesyesyes[1], [2]
cisplatinyesyesyes[1], [2]
cyclophosphamideyesno biomarkers yetnot yet[1], [2]
doxorubicinyesyesnot yet[1]
epirubicinyesyesnot yet[2]
etoposideyesno biomarkers yetnot yet[1], [2]
irinotecanyesyesnot yet[1]
lomustineno validation yetno biomarkers yetnot yet[2]
methotrexatenonot yet
not yet[2]
paclitaxelyesyesnot yet[1]
topotecanyesyesnot yet[1], [2]
vincristineyesyesnot yet[1], [2]



Frequently Used Combination Therapies

substance namereference
carboplatin + etoposide[1], [2]
carboplatin + irinotecan[1]
carboplatin + paclitaxel[1]
cisplatin + etoposide[1], [2]
cisplatin + irinotecan[1]
cyclophosphamide + epirubicin + vincristine[2]
cyclophosphamide + doxorubicin + vincristine[1]
lomustine + methotrexate[2]

The drugs listed here were identified as potential therapy options after an accurate literature research. Completeness cannot be guaranteed. Status: September 2016.