Lung cancer: Biology and treatment options

Our plain-English summary of Lung cancer: Biology and treatment options, by H. Lemjabbar-Alaoui, O.U. Hassan, Y.W. Yang, et al (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 2015).

The study

• Authors: H. Lemjabbar-Alaoui, O.U. Hassan, Y.W. Yang, P. Buchanan
• Journal: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta
• Published: 2015;1856(2):189-210
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 739 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality in men and women in the U.S. and worldwide. About 90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking and the use of tobacco products. However, other factors such as radon gas, asbestos, air pollution exposures, and chronic infections can contribute to lung carcinogenesis. In addition, multiple inherited and acquired mechanisms of susceptibility to lung cancer have been proposed. Lung cancer is divided into two broad histologic classes, which grow and spread differently: small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs) and non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs). Treatment options for lung cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Therapeutic-modalities recommendations depend on several factors, including the type and stage of cancer. Despite the improvements in diagnosis and therapy made during the past 25 years, the prognosis for patients with lung cancer is still unsatisfactory. The responses to current standard therapies are poor except for the most localized cancers. However, a better understanding of the biology pertinent to these challenging malignancies, might lead to the development of more efficacious and perhaps more specific drugs. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent developments in lung cancer biology and its therapeutic strategies, and discuss the latest treatment advances including therapies currently under clinical investigation.

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In plain English

This article is a review, not a new study. The authors summarized published research on the biology and treatment of lung cancer, covering non-small cell and small cell lung cancer, and included a shorter section on malignant mesothelioma. The review stated that about 90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking and tobacco use. It listed asbestos among other factors, such as radon gas, air pollution and chronic infections, that can contribute to lung cancer. It did not analyze asbestos exposure itself. In the mesothelioma section, citing other sources, the review described asbestos as a well-established cause, with occupational exposure documented in 70-80% of mesothelioma patients. It said mesothelioma arises from the pleura and, less often, from the peritoneum. Drawing on earlier studies, it reported that mesothelioma treatment is rarely curative and that median survival has ranged from 10 to 17 months. Most of the review described drug, radiation, surgical and immune-based treatments for lung cancer. The authors concluded that survival for lung cancer and mesothelioma patients remains dismal and that reliable biomarkers are needed for early detection and treatment selection.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of published literature on lung cancer biology and treatment, with a section on malignant mesothelioma; no new data were collected
• Who was studied: No study population. The review covered published research on non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, mostly treatment trials.
• Exposure: Not studied directly. The review mentions asbestos among factors that can contribute to lung cancer. Citing other sources, it describes asbestos as a well-established cause of malignant mesothelioma. No fiber types, products, jobs or doses are discussed.
• Main results:
  • The review stated that about 90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking and tobacco products.
  • The review listed asbestos alongside radon gas, air pollution and chronic infections as factors that can contribute to lung cancer.
  • Citing other sources, the review stated that occupational asbestos exposure is documented in 70-80% of malignant mesothelioma patients.
  • The review stated that malignant mesothelioma arises from the pleura and, less frequently, from the peritoneum.
  • The review stated that malignant mesothelioma affects about 3,000 new patients in the United States each year.
  • Citing earlier work, the review stated that mesothelioma treatment with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation is rarely curative and that median survival has ranged from 10 to 17 months.
  • Citing an earlier trial, the review reported a median survival of 12 months with pemetrexed plus cisplatin for mesothelioma, compared with nine months with cisplatin alone.
  • For lung cancer, the review stated that 5-year overall survival is less than 10% in advanced disease and greater than 70% in stage 1 disease.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, despite new targeted agents and immunotherapies, survival for lung cancer and mesothelioma patients remains dismal. They concluded that reliable biomarkers are needed to predict response to treatment and to detect lung cancer early.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, Carcinogenesis, Carcinoma, Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Prognosis.

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