Curr Oncol
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Paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome (pns) is a rare condition indirectly caused by an underlying malignancy. In many cases, the malignancy is occult at the time of the pns diagnosis, and the optimal diagnostic modality to detect the underlying tumour is unclear. In the present study, we aimed to assess the utility of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (fdg-pet) or pet integrated with computed tomography (pet/ct) in the investigation of these patients. ⋯ When investigating for underlying malignancy in patients with suspected pns and negative conventional imaging, pet has high sensitivity and specificity.
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Patients with limited-stage (ls) or extensive-stage (es) small-cell lung cancer (sclc) are commonly given platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line treatment. Standard chemotherapy for patients with ls sclc includes a platinum agent such as cisplatin combined with the non-platinum agent etoposide. The objective of the present systematic review was to investigate the efficacy of adding radiotherapy to chemotherapy in patients with es sclc and to determine the appropriate timing, dose, and schedule of chemotherapy or radiation for patients with sclc. ⋯ In patients with ls sclc, cisplatin-etoposide plus radiotherapy should remain the standard therapy. In patients with es sclc, the evidence is insufficient to recommend the addition of radiotherapy to chemotherapy as standard practice to improve overall survival. However, on a case-by-case basis, radiotherapy might be added to reduce local recurrence. The most commonly used chemotherapy is platinum-etoposide; however, platinum-irinotecan can be considered.