De Novo Actionable Genomic Alterations in High-Grade Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Carcinomas: Therapeutic Implications of Targeted Treatment

Background/Objectives: High-grade pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (HGNEC-L), including SCLC and LCNEC, is aggressive and usually treated according to SCLC paradigms. The clinical relevance of de novo actionable genomic alterations (AGA) remains incompletely defined. Methods: We performed a retrospective multicenter analysis of advanced HGNEC-L with de novo AGA, assessing rwORR, rwDCR, rwPFS, and OS. Findings were contextualized by a structured literature review and exploratory pooled reconstructed-IPD Cox analysis, with targeted therapy modeled as a source-stratified time-dependent covariate. Results: Ten patients from four tertiary centers were included. Most were women (90.0%) and never-smokers (70.0%); histology was LCNEC in 60.0% and SCLC/mixed SCLC in 40.0%. AGA included EGFR mutations (n = 6), EML4-ALK fusions (n = 2), KIF5B-RET fusion (n = 1), and KRAS p.G12C (n = 1). Targeted-containing regimens achieved rwORR 77.8%, rwDCR 88.9%, and median rwPFS 9.0 months (95% CI, 2.0–18.7), as opposed to 3.7 months for ICI-containing regimens and 2.6 months for chemotherapy alone. Median OS for the entire cohort was 17.2 months (95% CI, 4.8–36.3); overall survival did not differ significantly between patients with and without targeted-containing exposure (19.0 vs 17.2 months; log-rank p = 0.50). In pooled reconstructed-IPD time-dependent Cox analysis (72 patients, 39 deaths), targeted therapy showed a favorable but non-significant OS association (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.31–2.56; p = 0.831), maintained directionally in the age/sex-adjusted subset (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.16–1.77; p = 0.306). Conclusions: De novo AGA-positive HGNEC-L represents a clinically relevant subgroup with potential sensitivity to genotype-matched targeted therapy, supporting comprehensive molecular profiling and early targeted therapy consideration.