Summary of selected presentations from the 8th annual targeted therapy in lung cancer symposium

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Outcomes for patients with lung cancer have reached a plateau with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Lung cancer remains very much at the vanguard of the new revolution in cancer therapy using molecular targets. Although striking improvements in survival have been observed in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and in a subset of breast cancer using this approach, the impact of targeted therapies in lung cancer is quite modest. Along with advances in imaging and cancer genomics, there is now considerable optimism that the pace of progress in the treatment of lung cancer will accelerate in the next 10 years. As has been the custom for the past 8 years, leading experts in the biology, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer met for three days to discuss current areas of research and future directions. This summary provides a brief snapshot of the discussions held at the 8th Annual Meeting on Targeted Therapies for Lung Cancer sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer in Santa Monica in early February 2008.