Small Cell Lung Cancer News and Research

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Small cell lung cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung. Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive (fast-growing) cancer that can spread to other parts of the body. The cancer cells look small and oval-shaped when looked at under a microscope.

Adjuvant osimertinib delivers long-term survival benefit in EGFR-mutated NSCLC

An exploratory eight-year landmark update from the Phase III ADAURA trial showed that adjuvant osimertinib continued to provide a long-term overall survival benefit for patients with completely resected, EGFR-mutated stage IB-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

15 Sep 2026

T-DXd significantly extends progression-free survival in HER2-mutant NSCLC

First-line treatment with trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) significantly improved progression-free survival compared with pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to primary results from the Phase 3 DESTINY-Lung04 trial presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).

15 Sep 2026

Zidesamtinib shows strong activity in TKI-naive ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer

New results from the global Phase I/II ARROS-1 trial showed clinically meaningful activity with zidesamtinib in patients with advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had not previously received a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).

15 Sep 2026

Sacituzumab govitecan combination misses progression-free survival endpoint in metastatic NSCLC

Sacituzumab govitecan (SG) plus pembrolizumab did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) of 50% or greater, according to primary results from the Phase 3 EVOKE-03/KEYNOTE-D46 trial presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).

15 Sep 2026

Ivonescimab shows significant survival benefit for patients with PD-L1-positive NSCLC

Ivonescimab significantly prolonged overall survival compared with pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for patients with PD-L1-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a prespecified interim analysis of the phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial presented today at the IASLC 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer.

14 Sep 2026

Subcutaneous tarlatamab exhibits low toxicity rates in phase 1b trial

Subcutaneous administration of tarlatamab was well tolerated and demonstrated preliminary antitumor activity in patients with previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), according to findings from the phase 1b DeLLphi-308 study presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).

12 Sep 2026

Phase 2 study highlights flexible dosing options for tarlatamab in relapsed SCLC

Extended-interval dosing regimens of tarlatamab demonstrated efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic profiles generally consistent with the established every-two-week regimen in patients with previously treated for small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to results from the randomized Phase 2 DeLLphi-309 study presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).

12 Sep 2026

MD Anderson trial challenges local consolidative therapy paradigm in NSCLC

Adding local consolidative therapy (LCT) after induction treatment with nivolumab plus ipilimumab did not improve overall survival or progression-free survival in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including those with oligometastatic disease, according to results presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).

12 Sep 2026

Neoadjuvant atezolizumab addition quadruples pathological responses in resectable lung tumors

Patients with resectable stage II–IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with perioperative atezolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy experienced a median event-free survival of 62.8 months compared with 34.9 months for patients receiving chemotherapy alone, according to final results from the Phase 3 IMpower030 trial.

12 Sep 2026

Low discontinuation rates confirm manageable safety of iza-bren

An investigational EGFR x HER3 antibody-drug conjugate demonstrated promising efficacy with a tolerable safety profile in patients with previously treated EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), supporting selection of the 2.5 mg/kg dose for evaluation in the global Phase 3 IZABRIGHT-Lung01 registrational study.

12 Sep 2026

Tumor DNA clearance reaches 39% in novel immunomodulator and ADC combination

The investigational combination of pumitamig and elfetabart drozuntecan (elfe-D) demonstrated a manageable safety profile and encouraging early antitumor activity in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to first clinical data from the ongoing Phase 1b/2 BNT324-01 trial presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).

12 Sep 2026

Study shows how the microbiome shapes lung cancer immunotherapy outcomes

Despite the revolutionary impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors on cancer therapy, 60% to 80% of patients with NSCLC still show suboptimal responses.

9 Sep 2026

Daraxonrasib shows durable responses in RAS-mutant lung cancer

Daraxonrasib, an oral RAS inhibitor therapy, achieved durable responses in pretreated patients with RAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a Phase 1/2 trial led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

2 Sep 2026

Post-surgery immunotherapy may not benefit specific lung cancer patients

A new real-world observational study has found that adding adjuvant immunotherapy after surgery does not significantly improve survival outcomes in patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have already achieved a pathological complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy.

2 Sep 2026

Immunotherapy shows potential for treating rising gynecological tumors

Gynecological tumors, including cervical cancer (CC), endometrial cancer (EC), and ovarian cancer (OC), represent a significant global health burden for women.

1 Sep 2026

AI tools map tumor architecture to predict treatment response

Spatial transcriptomics is a powerful tool to create a detailed map of not just how genes are expressed in a piece of tissue, but also where genetic activity takes place in different cells and locations within the tissue.

31 Aug 2026

Protecting the thymus may improve lung cancer treatment outcomes

Building on recent discoveries about the adult thymus, Mass General Brigham investigators used artificial intelligence to show that incidental radiation exposure to the thymus may influence outcomes in patients with lung cancer.

25 Aug 2026

Study links thymus radiation to worse lung cancer outcomes

Until recently, the thymus was thought to be of little use beyond puberty, but new research has shown that radiation to the organ is associated with worse outcomes in patients being treated for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

25 Aug 2026

A striking immune cell pattern emerges around a person’s 100th birthday

Single-cell immune profiling found that CD4 cytotoxic T lymphocytes become more abundant around age 100, showing stepwise differentiation and substantial clonal expansion. Ex vivo experiments also revealed cytokine plasticity within individual clones, supporting the hypothesis that these cells adapt to persistent antigens during healthy aging, although their direct role in longevity remains unproven.

23 Aug 2026

Younger lung cancer patients show more targetable gene alterations

Younger adults with non-small cell lung cancer are significantly more likely than older patients to have genetic alterations that can be matched with targeted therapies, according to a large international study led in part by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

21 Aug 2026