Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), also called squamous cell lung cancer, is one of the major subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Fifty years ago, LSCC was the most common lung cancer diagnosis. LSCC was considered the classic smoker’s lung cancer, as most patients with LSCC had a history of smoking cigarettes. Today, the incidence of LSCC depends on where you live. In areas with decreasing smoking rates, we’ve also seen a reduction in the number of LSCC diagnoses. Overall, while lung adenocarcinoma is now the most common type of NSCLC in the US, approximately 15-30% of lung

Targeted therapies, or treatments directed towards specific biomarkers in tumor cells, have been effective in treating many patients with advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tumors that have the ALK protein fused with another cancer-driving protein, such as the EML4 protein, are often referred to as ALK-positive tumors. Approximately 5% of advanced-stage adenocarcinoma, a type of NSCLC, will test positive for an ALK-fusion biomarker. Treating patients with ALK-positive lung cancer with a class of drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has been an effective approach

Patient Rosemary Conway was joined by LUNGevity's Dr. Amy Moore and Hatim Husain, an oncologist at UCSD, to discuss biomarker testing and progress in KRAS-positive lung cancer.

Drs. Upal Basu Roy, Amy Moore, and Dhru Deb discuss their recent publication in which they presented an analysis of the lung cancer drug pipeline. They talk about what it means for patients, new drugs under development for NSCLC and SCLC, and some of the ongoing challenges and opportunities this rapid growth means for the lung cancer community.