Benjamin P. Levy, MD | Authors

December 08, 2016

In this interview we discuss the use of liquid biopsies in lung cancer, the pros and cons compared with tissue biopsies, and how they can be used to help make treatment decisions.

July 16, 2016

In this article, we review the available literature addressing the competing treatment strategies in EGFR-Positive Lung Cancer and attempt to clarify best treatment practices, including the emerging role of T790M-directed therapies.

November 15, 2014

The NLST is a landmark trial demonstrating that implementation of low-dose CT screening lowers lung cancer–related mortality. We must put the study results and cost-effectiveness analyses in the context of the staggering statistics: up to 65% of lung cancer patients present with advanced-stage disease where treatments are often costly, toxic, and only palliative in nature.

June 15, 2014

An 81-year-old Chinese male never-smoker with a medical history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia presented with a productive cough and a 5-lb weight loss over 3 months.

September 15, 2010

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) is a subset of pulmonary adenocarcinoma characterized by distinct and unique pathological, molecular, radiographic, and clinical features. While the incidence of pure BAC is rare, comprising only 1% to 4% of non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), mixed subtypes (including BAC with focal invasion and adenocarcinoma with BAC features) represent as much as 20% of adenocarcinomas-and that figure may be increasing. Despite the longstanding recognition of this entity, there is no established treatment paradigm for patients with multifocal BAC, resulting in competing approaches and treatment controversies. Current options for multifocal BAC include both surgery and systemic therapies. Unfortunately, prospective data on systemic approaches are limited by study design and small patient numbers; there are only seven phase II studies involving four therapies. This article evaluates key characteristics of BAC, including the current understanding of histopathology and tumor biology. In addition, it comprehensively reviews the systemic phase II studies in an attempt to clarify the therapeutic challenges in this disease. It also includes the first proposed treatment paradigm that integrates both EGFR mutational status and the sub-histologies, mucinous and nonmucinous BAC.