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  • Primer
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Non-small-cell lung cancer

Nature Reviews Disease Primers volume 1, Article number: 15009 (2015) Cite this article

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Abstract

Lung cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers and is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a heterogeneous class of tumours, represents approximately 85% of all new lung cancer diagnoses. Tobacco smoking remains the main risk factor for developing this disease, but radon exposure and air pollution also have a role. Most patients are diagnosed with advanced-stage disease owing to inadequate screening programmes and late onset of clinical symptoms; consequently, patients have a very poor prognosis. Several diagnostic approaches can be used for NSCLC, including X-ray, CT and PET imaging, and histological examination of tumour biopsies. Accurate staging of the cancer is required to determine the optimal management strategy, which includes surgery, radiochemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted approaches with anti-angiogenic monoclonal antibodies or tyrosine kinase inhibitors if tumours harbour oncogene mutations. Several of these driver mutations have been identified (for example, in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)), and therapy continues to advance to tackle acquired resistance problems. Also, palliative care has a central role in patient management and greatly improves quality of life. For an illustrated summary of this Primer, visit: http://go.nature.com/rWYFgg

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Figure 1: Lung cancer classification.
Figure 2: Annual incidence of lung cancer per 100,000 people in 2012.
Figure 3: Genetic adaptation in non-small-cell lung cancer.
Figure 4: Implications of EGFR and HER2 mutations.
Figure 5: Illustration of intratumour heterogeneity in non-small-cell lung cancer development.
Figure 6: Diagnosis of lung cancer.
Figure 7: Strategy for invasive mediastinal staging.
Figure 8: Management of non-small-cell lung cancer.
Figure 9: Intersection of the FLT3, SYK and EGFR pathways.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Medical Oncology, S.G. Moscati Hospital, Avellino, Italy

    Cesare Gridelli & Antonio Rossi

  2. James Thoracic Center, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    David P. Carbone

  3. Department of Thoracic Surgery, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Juliana Guarize, Francesco Petrella & Lorenzo Spaggiari

  4. Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain

    Niki Karachaliou & Rafael Rosell

  5. Department of Clinical Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

    Tony Mok

Authors
  1. Cesare Gridelli
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  2. Antonio Rossi
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  3. David P. Carbone
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  4. Juliana Guarize
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  5. Niki Karachaliou
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  6. Tony Mok
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  7. Francesco Petrella
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  8. Lorenzo Spaggiari
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  9. Rafael Rosell
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Contributions

Introduction (C.G. and A.R.); Epidemiology (C.G. and A.R.); Mechanisms/pathophysiology (D.P.C.); Diagnosis, screening and prevention (J.G., F.P. and L.S.); Management (T.M.); Quality of life (C.G. and A.R.); Outlook (N.K.); overview of Primer (C.G. and R.R.).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cesare Gridelli.

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Competing interests

C.G. has received honoraria, speaker's fees, research funding and/or has served as an advisor to Eli Lilly, Roche, Novartis, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Pfizer, and Boehringer Ingelheim. A.R. has received honoraria, speaker's fees and/or has served as an advisor to Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim. D.P.C. has been a paid consultant for Roche/Genentech, Pfizer, Novartis, BioDesix, Merck, EMD Serono, GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim and Amgen. T.M. has received honoraria, speaker's fees, research funding and/or has served as an advisor to: AstraZeneca, Roche/Genentech, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Eisai, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, AVEO, Pfizer, Taiho, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Clovis Oncology, Amgen, Janssen and BioMarin Pharmaceuticals. J.G., N.K., F.P., L.S. and R.R. declare no competing interests.

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Gridelli, C., Rossi, A., Carbone, D. et al. Non-small-cell lung cancer. Nat Rev Dis Primers 1, 15009 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2015.9

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