MOLECULAR CARCINOGENESIS 54:vi (2015)
Introduction to Special Issue: Recent Advances in Mechanisms, Prevention and Treatment of Lung Cancer Matthew B. Schabath and John DiGiovanni
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States and around the world [1–3]. Worldwide in 2012, there were approximately 1.8 million new lung cancer diagnoses accounting for 12.9% of the global cancer burden. In the United States, lung cancer, which accounts for 13% of all new cancers, is the second most common cancer among men after prostate cancer and the second most common cancer among women following breast cancer [1]. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2015 an estimated 221,200 new cases of lung cancer are expected (115,610 in men and 105,590 in women) and an estimated 158,040 deaths from lung cancer (86,380 in men and 71,660 among women) accounting for about 27% of all cancer-related deaths. Despite improvements over the last several decades in overall survival for many other cancer types, there has been little improvement in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survival mainly because by the time a diagnosis is made, the cancer is advanced stage and treatment options are limited. NSCLC represents approximately 80% to 90% of all lung cancer diagnoses [4] and has an overall 5-year survival rate of approximately 21% that decreases significantly among patients diagnosed with late stage disease [1]. Pathologic staging is one of the most important prognostic factors for lung cancer; however, there is marked variability in patient outcomes within the same stage of disease which suggests other factors contribute to NSCLC prognosis such as tumor heterogeneity and somatic mutations, germline genetics, and patient characteristics such as age, gender, smoking status, and presence of comorbidities [5,6]. Given the low survival rates among lung cancer patients, there remains an urgent need to develop new biomarkers for early detection as well as disease prognosis, and the identification of new targets for treatment are also needed as are novel treatment strategies such as immune therapy and precision-based medicine. The lung cancer epidemic, which peaked in the 20th century, began to decline by the century’s end, and continues to decline today due to successful tobaccocontrol efforts. Although smoking rates have steadily declined over the last 55 years [7], today in the United ß 2015 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.
States nearly 18% of adults are active smokers [8] Certainly lung cancer incidence rates have declined due to these successful tobacco-control efforts, there still remains a critical need for development of novel prevention strategies, including chemoprevention strategies. In this special issue of Molecular Carcinogenesis, we highlight a number of recent accepted papers that cover these topics and provide new insight into lung cancer mechanisms, identification of biomarkers of disease outcomes, and potential therapeutic and prevention strategies for lung cancer with a particular focus on NSCLC. REFERENCES 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures 2015. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2015. 2. American Cancer Society. Global cancer facts & figures, 2nd edition. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2011. 3. International Agency for Research on Cancer. GLOBOCAN 2012: Estimated cancer incidence, morality, and prevalence worldwide in 2012. Available from: http://globocan.iarc.fr/ Pages/fact_sheets_cancer.aspx 4. Rami-Porta R, Bolejack V, Giroux DJ, et al. The IASLC lung cancer staging project: The new database to inform the eighth edition of the TNM classification of lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2014;9: 1618–1624. 5. Dela Cruz CS, Tanoue LT, Matthay RA. Lung cancer: Epidemiology, etiology, and prevention. Clin Chest Med 2011;32: 605–644. 6. Ries LAG. Cancer survival among adults : U.S. SEER program, 1988-2001, patient and tumor characteristics. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; 2007. 276 pp. 7. Centers for Disease C, Prevention Cigarette smoking among adults-United States, 2006. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007;56: 1157–1161. 8. U.S. Department of Health, Human Services. The health consequences of smoking –50 years of progress: A report of the surgeon general, 2014. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health, Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention, Health Promotion, Office on Smoking, Health, 2014.
DOI 10.1002/mc.22337 Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).
Introduction to Special Issue: Recent Advances in Mechanisms, Prevention and Treatment of Lung Cancer Matthew B. Schabath and John DiGiovanni
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States and around the world [1–3]. Worldwide in 2012, there were approximately 1.8 million new lung cancer diagnoses accounting for 12.9% of the global cancer burden. In the United States, lung cancer, which accounts for 13% of all new cancers, is the second most common cancer among men after prostate cancer and the second most common cancer among women following breast cancer [1]. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2015 an estimated 221,200 new cases of lung cancer are expected (115,610 in men and 105,590 in women) and an estimated 158,040 deaths from lung cancer (86,380 in men and 71,660 among women) accounting for about 27% of all cancer-related deaths. Despite improvements over the last several decades in overall survival for many other cancer types, there has been little improvement in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survival mainly because by the time a diagnosis is made, the cancer is advanced stage and treatment options are limited. NSCLC represents approximately 80% to 90% of all lung cancer diagnoses [4] and has an overall 5-year survival rate of approximately 21% that decreases significantly among patients diagnosed with late stage disease [1]. Pathologic staging is one of the most important prognostic factors for lung cancer; however, there is marked variability in patient outcomes within the same stage of disease which suggests other factors contribute to NSCLC prognosis such as tumor heterogeneity and somatic mutations, germline genetics, and patient characteristics such as age, gender, smoking status, and presence of comorbidities [5,6]. Given the low survival rates among lung cancer patients, there remains an urgent need to develop new biomarkers for early detection as well as disease prognosis, and the identification of new targets for treatment are also needed as are novel treatment strategies such as immune therapy and precision-based medicine. The lung cancer epidemic, which peaked in the 20th century, began to decline by the century’s end, and continues to decline today due to successful tobaccocontrol efforts. Although smoking rates have steadily declined over the last 55 years [7], today in the United ß 2015 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.
States nearly 18% of adults are active smokers [8] Certainly lung cancer incidence rates have declined due to these successful tobacco-control efforts, there still remains a critical need for development of novel prevention strategies, including chemoprevention strategies. In this special issue of Molecular Carcinogenesis, we highlight a number of recent accepted papers that cover these topics and provide new insight into lung cancer mechanisms, identification of biomarkers of disease outcomes, and potential therapeutic and prevention strategies for lung cancer with a particular focus on NSCLC. REFERENCES 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures 2015. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2015. 2. American Cancer Society. Global cancer facts & figures, 2nd edition. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2011. 3. International Agency for Research on Cancer. GLOBOCAN 2012: Estimated cancer incidence, morality, and prevalence worldwide in 2012. Available from: http://globocan.iarc.fr/ Pages/fact_sheets_cancer.aspx 4. Rami-Porta R, Bolejack V, Giroux DJ, et al. The IASLC lung cancer staging project: The new database to inform the eighth edition of the TNM classification of lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2014;9: 1618–1624. 5. Dela Cruz CS, Tanoue LT, Matthay RA. Lung cancer: Epidemiology, etiology, and prevention. Clin Chest Med 2011;32: 605–644. 6. Ries LAG. Cancer survival among adults : U.S. SEER program, 1988-2001, patient and tumor characteristics. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; 2007. 276 pp. 7. Centers for Disease C, Prevention Cigarette smoking among adults-United States, 2006. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007;56: 1157–1161. 8. U.S. Department of Health, Human Services. The health consequences of smoking –50 years of progress: A report of the surgeon general, 2014. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health, Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention, Health Promotion, Office on Smoking, Health, 2014.
DOI 10.1002/mc.22337 Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).
