Lung Special Issue (2)

THE TERM “BIOPSY” DATES to the 1800s. Tissue biopsies have served as the definitive way to confirm a diagnosis of cancer. However, much like cancer drug development is evolving, so is the way we can detect the disease, categorize it more precisely and, more recently, even pinpoint how to treat it.

Genetic mutations help fuel the growth of cancer tumors in patients. And, in recent years, experts in the medical field have begun to better understand how targeting those mutations can knock out the spread of the disease.

Rural patients tend to have diminished access to appropriate, routine cancer screening studies, leading to patients with cancer being diagnosed with more advanced stage disease.

For patients with advanced disease, median survival was improved.

New targeted therapies are rapidly changing the landscape of non-small cell lung cancer.

Newer, less invasive tests are helping scientists isolate genomic alterations.

When her fears came true in 2005, Feldman couldn’t help but wonder whether all that stress contributed to her own non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosis.