Timothy F. Burns, MD, PhD

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.

Bevacizumab has become a standard of care for first line therapy in a subgroup of advanced NSCLC patients. With the advent of other effective therapies in bevacizumab-eligible patients and the ongoing development and testing of biomarkers for cytotoxic agents, it remains to be seen whether continued use of bevacizumab will be justified in the absence of predictive biomarkers.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, responsible for over a million deaths annually. In the United States in 2009, it is estimated that 219,440 cases will be diagnosed and 159,390 deaths will be attributable to lung cancer.[1] The vast majority of these deaths are cigarette-smoking associated. However, an estimated 10% to 15% of these deaths will occur in “never-smokers.”