About 15 percent of lung tumors are small cell lung cancer. Treatment for this aggressive and deadly malignancy has remained nearly unchanged for decades. Recently, however, immunotherapy drugs have modestly extended patient survival. But researchers are trying to do more.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center small cell lung cancer expert Dr. David MacPherson is working to understand the biology of the disease in order to develop more effective, targeted therapies. He chatted about his most recent work, published in the journal Science Signaling, as well as the state of small cell lung cancer research and what gives him hope for the future. The interview has been edited and condensed.
