Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 16, 2024; 12(23): 5410-5415
Published online Aug 16, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i23.5410
Small cell lung carcinoma with KIF5B-RET fusion partially responded to the 4th-line therapy with anlotinib: A case report
Rui Zhang, Yu-Ting He, Yi-Sha Liu, Hang Li, Feng Zhao
Rui Zhang, Meat Processing Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan Province, China
Yu-Ting He, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China
Yi-Sha Liu, Department of Pathology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China
Hang Li, Department of Radiology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China
Feng Zhao, Department of Oncology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang R conducted the data analysis, drafted the manuscript, and made contributions to funding acquisition and software application; He YT conducted the investigation and validated the work; Liu YS conducted research and handled data visualization; Li H was responsible for data curation and visualization; Zhao F played a key role in conceptualizing the research, acquiring funding, supervising the project, and reviewing and editing the manuscript. All authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Meat Processing Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, No. 22-R-16.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: Https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Feng Zhao, MBBS, Doctor, Department of Oncology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 32 W. 1st Ring Road, Qingyang District, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China. zhaofengzl@med.uestc.edu.cn
Received: March 31, 2024
Revised: June 12, 2024
Accepted: June 25, 2024
Published online: August 16, 2024
Processing time: 96 Days and 3.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) exhibits a pronounced tendency for metastasis and relapse, and the acquisition of resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, leading to complexity in treatment outcomes. It is crucial to tackle these challenges by advancing targeted therapeutic approaches in ongoing research endeavors. Variant RET fusions have been reported in several solid tumors, but are rarely reported in SCLC.

CASE SUMMARY

We present the first case of a KIF5B-RET fusion in a 65-year-old male patient with SCLC. To date, the patient has received the 4th line chemotherapy with anlotinib for one year and has shown a sustained favorable partial response. According to the results of next generation sequencing, this SCLC patient harbors the KIF5B-RET fusion, suggesting that RET fusion could serve as a promising molecular target for SCLC treatment. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) plays a critical role in comprehensively assessing the genotype and phenotype of cancer.

CONCLUSION

NGS can provide SCLC patients with personalized and targeted therapy options, thereby improving their likelihood of survival.

Keywords: KIF5B-RET fusion; Small cell lung cancer; Anlotinib; Partial response; Next-generation sequencing; Case report

Core Tip: This work describes a rare case of a KIF5B-RET fusion in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and the patient's sustained partial response to the 4th line therapy with anlotinib. The study highlights the potential of RET fusions as a promising molecular target in SCLC treatment and emphasizes the importance of next-generation sequencing for personalized therapy options. The innovative arguments include the identification of a novel fusion in SCLC and the potential for targeted therapy to enhance the survival rates of SCLC patients.