Summary of Key Points The use of mouse models to study the initiation and evolution of lung cancers has been crucial in advancing the field through the identification of putative stem cell niches within the lung. Bronchoalveolar stem cells (BASCs)…
Summary of Key Points Distinct cellular phenotypes are based on differential gene expression, which is achieved through heritable epigenetic modifications that maintain active and inactive chromosomal regions. Epigenetic mechanisms include DNA methylation, histone modifications, regulatory DNA-binding proteins, regulatory RNAs, genome-organizing…
Summary of Key Points Cancer genomes are characterized by the presence of a variety of alterations including base substitutions, copy-number alterations (amplifications or deletions), and structural rearrangements (translocations or chromosomal rearrangements). Among the early methods of DNA sequencing (now known…
Summary of Key Points Lung cancers commonly have structural chromosome aberrations and aneuploidy, with many of them associated with carcinogenesis. Gene amplification is a common mechanism of oncogenic activation in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) involving genes such as MYC…
Summary of Key Points Most chemoprevention research is focused on natural products and is not amenable to traditional pharmaceutical development. Robust research and development for lung cancer chemoprevention by the pharmaceutical industry is largely lacking. The traditional model of developing…
Summary of Key Points This chapter provides a review of some of the most promising recent studies of diagnostic biomarkers in lung cancer. We discuss the challenges and the importance of biomarker validation. Current guidelines recommend a study design to…
Summary of Key Points The National Lung Screening Trial has definitively shown a reduction in lung cancer mortality in a research setting but effective implementation of a lung cancer screening program needs to be evaluated in different health-care communities. Selection…
Summary of Key Points While 85% to 90% of lung cancer is attributable to cigarette smoking, substantial evidence exists to support genetic susceptibility to this disease. A family history of lung cancer is associated with a 1.5 to 4-fold increased…
Summary of Key Points Epidemiology of lung cancer is still changing: in the last 10 years lung cancer became the first cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women in many countries, while having previously been a rare disease…
Summary of Key Points The known or suspected etiologic factors for lung cancer arising in never-smokers are weak carcinogens or rare factors, which cannot explain the relatively high frequency of cancer in never-smokers. This also applies to environmental tobacco smoke.…