Advancing Treatment Strategies in Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: Enhancing Pharmacist Competence in Therapy Selection, Administration, and Adverse Event Management

Program Description

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 15% of all lung cancer cases, and those with extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC) have a median survival rate of less than 1 year. Early and accurate diagnosis and the timely initiation of therapeutic strategies are critical for optimized survival outcomes. Still, many patients experience treatment resistance and rapid disease progression. While historically challenging to treat with limited treatment options after relapse, recent advancements in systemic therapies, particularly the integration of immune checkpoint inhibitors with chemotherapy, have significantly improved patient outcomes. The program will balance a discussion on current guideline-directed frontline and maintenance treatments, including the challenges encountered in these regimens, with appropriate second-line treatment strategies for relapsed or refractory disease, providing clinical evidence to support treatment selection based on patient-specific factors. Pharmacist-led contributions within the multidisciplinary care team, including reviewing premedication requirements and dose adjustments, identifying and managing common and serious toxicities, and understanding administration considerations in outpatient settings, will also be discussed and applied to a clinical case discussion.
Target audience: Oncology pharmacists

Type of activity: Application
Release date: November 21, 2025
Expiration date: November 21, 2026
Time to complete activity: 1.0 hours
Learner level: Advanced
Fee: Free

Educational Objectives

At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Identify the appropriate systemic therapy options for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) based on patient-specific factors
• Examine the clinical evidence supporting the selection of novel systemic therapies for ES-SCLC
• Determine multidisciplinary care plans to ensure the safe administration and monitoring of systemic therapies for ES-SCLC