By Tammy McCausland
There are two main categories of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which includes approximately 85 percent of cases, and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), which accounts for approximately 15 percent of cases. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates there will be about 226,650 new lung cancer cases in 2025 and about 124,730 deaths.1
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men and women. Lung cancer primarily affects older people, with the average age of diagnosis is approximately 70.1 Only a small percentage are diagnosed before the age of 45.1 Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., responsible for about 1 in 5 cancer-related fatalies.1 Common treatments for lung cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy.
Smoking is a common cause of lung cancer. Other risk factors include secondhand smoke, radon, air pollution, asbestos and a family history of lung cancer.2 Statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that “about 10% to 20% of lung cancers, or 20,000 to 40,000 lung cancers each year, happen in people who never smoked or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.”2 According to information on the National Institutes of Health website, “Lung cancer in never-smokers is seen most often in women, people of Asian descent, and people with a family history of lung cancer.”3
Exciting developments are underway in lung cancer research. A team of Canadian researchers is investigating the environmental causes of lung cancer, focusing on radon, which is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. The researchers want to study people’s toenails, which “hold long-term information about our exposure to radioactive toxicants in our environment such as radon gas.”4 LungVax, a vaccine intended to prevent lung cancer, is entering a Phase 1 clinical trial.5 Researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London developed LungVax. Lab tests have demonstrated that LungVax works by “priming the immune system to recognize and kill abnormal lung cells before they become cancerous.” 5 Findings from a recent study published in the journal Molecular Therapy Oncology indicate that “disabling the NRF2 gene using CRISPR technology can reverse chemotherapy resistance in lung cancer.”6 Research from ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute shows that disabling the NRF2 gene slows tumor growth and restores sensitivity to drugs, which can facilitate treatment.
AI is playing a significant role in enhancing lung cancer treatments. iSeg, an AI tool being developed by researchers at Northwestern Medicine, matches doctors’ outlines of lung tumors on CT scans and can identify areas that some doctors may miss.7 iSeg “is the first 3D deep learning tool shown to segment tumors as they move with each breath.” 7
Let’s hope all the research leads to an improved quality of life and longer-term survival for individuals diagnosed with lung cancer.
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