Lung Cancer:, 2010 Prevention, Management, and Emerging Therapies Current Clinical Oncology Series

Defining the Lung Cancer Problem 1 Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. It kills almost as many Americans as cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, rectum, pancreas, and 2 kidney combined, and accounts for 28.6% of all US cancer deaths. With an increase in the 5-year relative survival rate from 13% to only 16% in the more than 2 30 years from 1974 to the present, it will take us another 840 years to eradicate lung cancer deaths if we do not improve the current rate of progress. As discussed in this text, lung cancer prevention has received substantial att- tion. The decrease in smoking in recent decades has helped, but smoking is not the only problem. Lung cancer in people who have never smoked is currently the 5th 3 leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Several factors contribute to the lethality of lung cancer, including the rapidity of tumor growth, advanced stage at diagnosis (due to nonspecificity of early sy- toms and the uncertain efficacy of screening), early development of metastases, and resistance to therapy. Several chapters in this book discuss new molecular targets that may be potentially exploitable in the future, as well as discussing our track record to date in exploiting them.

Molecular Pathology of Lung Cancer.- Tumor Microenvironment.- Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Lung Cancer.- Pharmacogenetics of Lung Cancer.- Lung Cancer Prevention.- Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Therapy of NSCLC.- Chemoradiotherapy for Inoperable Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.- Management of Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: Front Line Treatment.- Chemotherapy in Previously Treated Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.- Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors in the Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.- Angiogenesis Inhibitors in Lung Cancer.- Other Molecular Targeted Agents in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.- Vaccine Therapy for Lung Cancer.- Gene-Based Therapies for Lung Cancer.- Lung Cancer Resistance to Chemotherapy.- Small Cell Carcinoma of the Lung.- Mesothelioma.- Advances in Oncology Clinical Research: Statistical and Study Design Methodologies.- Palliative Care for Patients with Lung Cancer.- The Future of Lung Cancer.

Provides full coverage of established and emerging therapies, including novel targeted and antiangiogenic agents Evaluates the mechanisms of drug resistance and the therapeutic potential of new targets Integrates molecular biology into strategies for prevention and treatment of lung cancer Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras