Clinicopathologic Features of Advanced Squamous NSCLC.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. NSCLC accounts for more than 85% of all lung cancers, and the prognosis for advanced-stage disease is typically poor. In recent years, the importance of histologic subtypes of NSCLC has been recognized, and the distinction between squamous and other NSCLC histologic subtypes is now critical to patient management. Squamous cell lung cancer (sqCLC) represents approximately 25% to 30% of NSCLC. The prognosis for patients with advanced NSCLC is poorer for those with sqCLC than for those with adenocarcinoma. This is partly due to a number of clinical characteristics that distinguish sqCLC from other NSCLC histologic subtypes, such as smoking history, comorbid diseases, age, and molecular profile. Together, these factors make sqCLC an especially challenging disease to manage. Herein, we review some of the key clinicopathologic features of sqCLC. Understanding these features to optimally address many of the unique therapeutic challenges of this disease is likely to be central to ultimately improving outcomes for patients with squamous NSCLC.
Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: mark.socinski.md@flhosp.org.
Mark A
MA
Socinski
Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Coleman
C
Obasaju
Department of Hematology and Oncology, University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sacramento, California.
David
D
Gandara
University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, Colorado.
Fred R
FR
Hirsch
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Philip
P
Bonomi
University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, Colorado.
Paul
P
Bunn
Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Edward S
ES
Kim
Department of Thoracic Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Corey J
CJ
Langer
Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center, West Hollywood, California.
Ronald B
RB
Natale
University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Silvia
S
Novello
Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, Hospital Virgen del Rocío, University of Seville and Superior Council of Scientific Investigation, Seville, Spain.
Luis
L
Paz-Ares
Department of Medical Oncology, Léon Bérard Cancer Center, Lyon, France.
Maurice
M
Pérol
Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf, Airway Research Center North, German Center for Lung Research, Grosshansdorf, Germany.
Martin
M
Reck
Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Suresh S
SS
Ramalingam
U.S. Oncology Research, Ocala, Florida.
Craig H
CH
Reynolds
Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, Tennessee.
David R
DR
Spigel
Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Thomas E
TE
Stinchcombe
Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California.
Heather
H
Wakelee
Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Carlos
C
Mayo
The Christie Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Nick
N
Thatcher
D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology; D015897:Comorbidity; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D009154:Mutation; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects
D066246:ErbB Receptors
Etiology; Histologic Subtype; NSCLC; Squamous cell lung cancer