Cancer Research and Treatment  2012;44(2):74-84

Personalized Combined Modality Therapy for Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

D Nathan KIM 1 ; Taek Keun NAM ; Kevin S CHOE ; Hak CHOY

Affiliations

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Keywords

Lung neoplasms; Individualized medicine; Tyrosine kinase inhibitor; Epidermal growth factor receptor; Combined modality therapy

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a heterogeneous disease, and we have embarked on an era where patients will benefit from individualized therapeutic strategies based on identifiable molecular characteristics of the tumor. The landmark studies demonstrating the importance of molecular characterization of tumors for NSCLC patients, the promising molecular pathways, and the potential molecular targets/agents for treatment of this disease will be reviewed. Understanding these issues will aid in the development of rationally designed clinical trials, so as to determine best means of appropriately incorporating these molecular strategies, to the current standard of radiation and chemotherapy regimens, for the treatment of locally advanced NSCLC.