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Smoking continues to threaten US public health

Smoking continues to threaten US public health

Research published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that disease and mortality due to smoking have continually increased over the past 50 years in the USA. [More]
Quarter of incident lung cancer slow growing or indolent

Quarter of incident lung cancer slow growing or indolent

A quarter of incident lung cancers are slow growing or indolent, and may be overdiagnosed, suggest results from sequential low-dose computed tomography screening. [More]

RET fusion signals unique NSCLC subtype

The presence of RET fusion genes in approximately 1.5% of non-small-cell lung cancer defines a subset of tumors with distinct clinicopathologic features, research suggests. [More]
FGFR1 amplification heralds poor prognosis in SCCL

FGFR1 amplification heralds poor prognosis in SCCL

Amplification of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 gene independently predicts poor outcomes in patients who have undergone resection of squamous cell lung cancer, research shows. [More]
New lung cancer loci found

New lung cancer loci found

Genome-wide analysis has identified three new susceptibility loci for lung cancer in a large cohort of never-smoking women in Asia. [More]
Obesity ramps up thoracic surgery costs

Obesity ramps up thoracic surgery costs

Obese patients have significantly increased operating times when undergoing lobectomy for primary lung cancer, show US study results. [More]
Selumetinib plus docetaxel shows KRAS-mutant NSCLC potential

Selumetinib plus docetaxel shows KRAS-mutant NSCLC potential

The addition of selumetinib to docetaxel therapy may boost the survival of patients with KRAS-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, suggest study findings published in The Lancet Oncology. [More]

Transcription factor expression aids stage I lung cancer prognosis

Expression of thyroid transcription factor-1 is an independent predictor for recurrence of stage I lung adenocarcinoma and allows intermediate-grade tumors to be split into two prognostic subsets, scientists have found. [More]
Fibulin-3 effective biomarker for pleural mesothelioma

Fibulin-3 effective biomarker for pleural mesothelioma

Research suggests that levels of fibulin-3 in plasma and effusions may aid in determining the diagnosis and prognosis of pleural mesothelioma. [More]
Many patients over-optimistic about palliative chemotherapy

Many patients over-optimistic about palliative chemotherapy

A majority of advanced colorectal and lung cancer patients in the USA may not understand that chemotherapy is unlikely to cure them, according to the results of a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. [More]

Gefitinib shows promise in Chinese lung cancer patients

Gefitinib improves progression-free survival, overall response, and health-related quality of life over carboplatin/paclitaxel for first-line advanced non-small-cell lung cancer treatment, a study indicates. [More]

Smoking history 'no bar to successful lung donation'

Although lung transplantation from donors with a positive smoking history is associated with worse outcomes than with lungs from non-smoking donors, survival is still better than remaining on the waiting list, say UK researchers. [More]

FDG–PET/CT improves staging and modifies radiotherapy management

The addition of FDG–positron emission tomography/computed tomography revised radiotherapy decision-making and enhanced tumor staging capabilities in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, research shows. [More]

Platinum tissue concentrations predict NSCLC treatment response

Reduced tissue platinum accumulation might explain why some patients with non-small-cell lung cancer fail to respond to platinum-based chemotherapy, research shows. [More]
Crizotinib may be effective treatment option for NSCLC subtype

Crizotinib may be effective treatment option for NSCLC subtype

Phase I trial results show that the chemotherapy drug crizotinib may be fast-acting and produce long-lasting treatment responses in patients with anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. [More]

SOX2 gene potential therapeutic target for SCLC

Expression of the Sry-related HMG box 2 gene is higher in small-celllung cancer tissue samples than in non-cancerous lung tissue samples, according to findings from a genetic study. [More]

Solubilized curcumin shrinks lung tumors in mice

Belgian researchers report that orally administered curcumin can reduce the size of lung cancer tumors in mice. [More]

Addition of sorafenib to chemotherapy does not prolong survival

The addition of sorafenib to gemcitabine/cisplatin fails to provide any additional benefit in chemotherapy-naïve patients with nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer, research shows. [More]
Model predicts lung cancer risk

Model predicts lung cancer risk

Researchers have shown that The Liverpool Lung Project Risk Model is effective in identifying those at the highest risk for lung cancer within 5 years, and who are therefore suitable for computed tomography screening. [More]

VEGF inhibitor fails to improve nonsquamous NSCLC overall survival

Adding motesanib to carboplatin–paclitaxel does not boost overall survival in patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer, including those with adenocarcinoma, say MONET1 investigators. [More]