The 180 splice variant of NCAM—containing exon 18—is specifically expressed in small cell lung cancer cells

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents 10% to 15% of clinical lung cancer cases. It is an aggressive malignancy strongly associated with smoking, annually killing an estimated 250,000 people worldwide. SCLC is decreasing in industrialized countries due to smoking cessation programs, but it is increasing in low- and middle-income countries (1)