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Personalized medicine in lung cancer: what we need to know

Tony S K Mok1

  • 1Department of Clinical Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, State Key Laboratory of South China, Sha Tin, Hong Kong, China. tony@clo.cuhk.edu.hk

Nature Reviews. Clinical Oncology
|August 25, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Personalized medicine for lung cancer is improving survival through targeted therapies. Understanding the target, biomarkers, endpoints, and resistance mechanisms is crucial for developing effective treatments.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Genetics
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Lung cancer is a leading cause of death.
  • Recent discoveries include EGFR mutations and ALK fusions.
  • These discoveries enable personalized medicine approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review key areas for developing targeted lung cancer therapies.
  • To highlight the importance of biomarkers and resistance mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current knowledge on targeted lung cancer therapy.
  • Discussion of four essential areas for targeted therapy development.

Main Results:

  • EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors and ALK inhibitors show significant tumor control and survival benefits.
  • Biomarker selection is critical for patient benefit.

Conclusions:

  • Targeted therapies based on specific genetic alterations have transformed lung cancer treatment.
  • Further understanding of targets, biomarkers, endpoints, and resistance is essential for advancing personalized lung cancer medicine.

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