Mark A. Socinski, MD | Authors

September 16, 2013

The Cancer Genome Atlas provides us with our first thorough insight into the genetic heterogeneity of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung; whether these findings will translate into personalized squamous cell lung cancer therapy is yet to be determined.

June 14, 2011

In 2004, Dr. Thomas Lynch[1] and others[2] first reported the presence of somatic mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in patients who exhibited great sensitivity to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

March 22, 2010

The first issue deserving comment is the heterogeneity of stage III disease. Stage IIIA N2 non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) includes patients with at least one “incidental” N2 node detected at the time of surgical resection in patients who had a negative mediastinal evaluation (including mediastinoscopy) preoperatively. It also includes patients whose initial computed tomography (CT) and positron-emission tomography (PET) scans show multiple bulky (> 2 cm) nodes that are confirmed by either mediastinoscopy or endobronchial ultrasound-guided bronchoscopy.

May 01, 2007

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. The predominant histologic type of lung cancer is Non-Small-Cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Approximately 30% of newly diagnosed patients with NSCLC present with stages I-IIIA disease.

July 01, 2005

We applaud Dr. Cappuzzo andcolleagues for an excellentreview of an emerging fieldin lung cancer treatment. Since 2000,three drugs (docetaxel [Taxotere],pemetrexed [Alimta], and erlotinib[Tarceva]) have been approved by theUS Food and Drug Administration(FDA) for second-line therapy in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) basedon the results of phase III trials (seeTable 1).[1-4] It is also possible thatsimilar approval will be sought for otherdrugs (eg, topotecan [Hycamtin]),[5]and gefitinib (Iressa) remains an optionfor treatment in the third-line setting.

July 02, 2000

This multicenter study enrolled 73 patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study design was based on the hypothesis that the non-overlapping toxicities of a 3-drug