Lung cancer is responsible for 29% of cancer deaths in the United States and has very low 5-year survival rates of approximately 11% in men and 15% in women. Although the early diagnosis of lung cancer may increase the survival rate with adequate treatment, advanced lung cancers are often metastasized and receive limited benefit from therapeutic regimens. As conventional treatments for lung cancer reach their limitations, researchers have attempted to discover novel drug therapies aimed at specific targets contributing to the progression of tumorigenesis. Recent advances in systems biology have enabled the molecular biology of lung carcinogenesis to be elucidated. Our understanding of the physiologic processes of tumor development provide a means to design more effective and specific drugs with less toxicity, thereby accelerating the delivery of new drug therapies to the patient's bedside.
Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Small Cell ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; methods ; Mutation ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; antagonists & inhibitors ; ras Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective: Weight gain is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality among patients with schizophrenia. We speculated that positive symptoms, related to dopaminergic hyperactivity and altered mesolimbic function, are associated with weight gain. Methods: Twenty-two antipsychotic-naïve, first-episode patients with schizophrenia were enrolled. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was completed at enrollment and follow-up. Body mass index (BMI) was also measured. Results: The increase in BMI, after 6.04 ± 2.16 years of follow-up, was associated with positive symptoms, but not negative symptoms, before treatment with antipsychotics in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia. Conclusion This finding implied that dopaminergic hyperactivity could be an important factor to predict the treatment outcome. Body weight control is important for the health management of patients with schizophrenia with more severe positive symptoms.