From Paul Bunn: Worldwide Overview of the Current Status of Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

http://www.archivesofpathology.org/doi/pdf/10.5858/arpa.2012-0295-SA

Paul A. Bunn Jr (2012) Worldwide Overview of the Current Status of Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine: December 2012, Vol. 136, No. 12, pp. 1478-1481.

SPECIAL SECTION—HOUSTON LUNG SYMPOSIUM, PART II

Worldwide Overview of the Current Status of Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Paul A. Bunn Jr , MD

From the Division of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado, Aurora.

Lung cancer is the leading worldwide cause of cancer deaths. Smoking is the dominant cause of lung cancer and smoking cessation is the established method to reduce lung cancer mortality. While lung cancer risk is reduced in former smokers, they have a lifelong increase in risk, compared to never-smokers. Novel chemoprevention strategies, such as oral or inhaled prostacyclin analogs, hold promise for these subjects. Low-dose spiral computed tomography screening reduced lung cancer mortality by 20% in high-risk heavy smokers older than 50 years. However, the high false-positive rate (96%) means that screened patients required controlled follow-up in experienced centers. An increasing percentage of patients with advanced lung cancer have molecular drivers in genes for which oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been developed.