United Kingdom

A 50-year-old male asked:

Mediastinal lymph node biopsy, small cell lung cancer. lungs clear on ct. is this an unknown primary or not, ie does sclc mean primary must be in lung?

1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

Dr. Michael Sandersanswered

Pulmonology 18 years experience

No - primary is SCLC: SCLC often starts in the lymph nodes. By definition, this is a primary lung cancer.

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677 viewsAnswered >2 years ago

Dr. Michael Sanders commented

Pulmonology 18 years experience

Provided original answer

I saw your thank you note - I appreciate it. I guess it's possible for there to be a primary and it spread to the nodes. However, if you had a CT scan, more than likely, the primary would've been seen. Also, we may be using different words to say the same thing. Please let me know if you need anything else.

May 29, 2017

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Last updated May 29, 2017

Found in:

Adult health›Lung cancer›Biopsy

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