title: Impact of genetic markers on treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: Non-small cell lung cancer represents a group of heterogeneous diseases. The last decade witnessed significant progress in improving our understanding of the biology of non-small cell lung cancer, which led to the identification of several genetic targets. Those genetic targets were utilized to explain clinical phenomena, such as the occurrence of non-small cell lung cancer in never-smokers, to predict response to conventional chemotherapy and biological agents, and to explain and predict resistance to therapy. The progress in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in the last few years was based on a new generation of population-enriched clinical trials that utilized genetic targets such as somatic EGFR mutations and ALK-EML4 mutations. In this review we will discuss the available information about the key genetic markers of non-small cell lung cancer and the pivotal clinical trials that validate the use of those genetic markers in non-small cell lung cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lamparella
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barochia
authors.forename: Salah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almokadem
mesh_terms: D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers