Spatial transcriptomics reveals molecular heterogeneity and subtype-specific therapeutic targets in small cell lung cancer.

ABSTRACT: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with strong associations to smoking, characterized by initial platinum sensitivity followed by rapid recurrence and poor long-term survival. The evolutionary processes driving this high plasticity and intratumoral heterogeneity remain inadequately understood, hampering the development of effective therapies. In this study, we established a comprehensive spatial transcriptomic (ST) landscape of SCLC. Our approach integrated two key methodological innovations: the Edgeindex metric for the quantitative assessment of tumor spatial architecture, and a specialized artificial neural network (ANN) model for precise tumor annotation. Utilizing this analytical framework, we systematically resolved SCLC heterogeneity across clinical, spa

SUBMITTER: Xie T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12949244 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature