Reducing Neurotoxicity in Lung Cancer

Laurie Gaspar, MD, Professor and Chair Department of Radiation Oncology, Grohne Chair in Clinical Oncology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, discusses reducing neurotoxicity in small cell lung cancer patients.

Clinical Pearls

• Neurotoxicity is a phenomenon that occurs with prophylactic cranial radiation or whole brain radiation therapy for brain metastases
• There are several methods of decreasing neurotoxicity, but using medication seems to be the most straightforward approach
• Additional research is being done to focus on reducing or avoiding radiation to the hippocampus, which will help patients keep their memory