Pharmacogenomics: a reality or still a promise?

Although notable progress has been made in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in recent years, this disease is still associated with a poor prognosis for most patients. Modern techniques have facilitated the identification of specific genetic factors that may play a role in disease progression and patient response to therapy, prompting research efforts to identify the clinical predictors of outcome for NSCLC. Recent evidence suggests that the application of a pharmacogenomic approach has the potential to greatly improve survival in certain subpopulations of patients with NSCLC, which could profoundly influence the decision-making process used in evolving treatment strategies for this malignancy.