The coming of age of molecular tumor profiling

While adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to modestly improve survival for patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the morbidities associated with administration of these drugs are substantial. The identification of molecular profiles that may predict a patient's need for adjuvant therapy may prove highly useful. In a recently published article, Zhu et al identify a 15-gene signature that serves as an independent prognostic marker for early-stage NSCLC, stratifying patients into low- and high-risk groups. Further, the authors found that the gene signature has predictive utility in determining the potential benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy.