Lung cancer

Disease overview

What is lung cancer?

Lung cancer is divided broadly into three types¹:

Non-small cell lung cancer or NSCLC (80–85% of cases)
Small-cell lung cancer or SCLC (10–15% of cases)
Lung carcinoid tumors and other lung tumors (<5% cases)

GIST treatment decisions you can have confidence in

The main subtypes of NSCLC are adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and large cell carcinoma. They are all classed as NSCLC because their treatment and prognoses are similar, even though they originate in different types of lung cells.

Lung cancer is most frequently diagnosed among people aged 65 to 74, with a median age at diagnosis of 71 years^1,2. There is a significant association with lifestyle factors, with ~80% of cases linked to smoking¹.

How common is lung cancer?

Lung and bronchus cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women, accounting for 12.2% of all new cancer cases².

It’s also the leading cause of cancer death at 20.8% of all cancer deaths². Soberingly, it’s estimated there will be >238,000 new cases in 2023 and that lung cancer will be the cause of >127,000 deaths².

Biomarkers

Building towards precision medicine in NSCLC

A better understanding of molecular events underlying cancer progression drives advances in oncology. Detection of relevant biomarkers is required to determine the optimal strategies in cancer prevention and care – paving the path to precision medicine.

Watch our webinars on biomarker testing for more detailed information.

Key NSCLC biomarkers

Mutations in the KRAS and EGFR genes together account for 40% of all the genomic changes seen in non-small cell lung cancer³.

Genomic testing is necessary for therapeutic decision-making and should be performed whenever possible. This is borne out in international guidelines^4–6, which recognize the need for EGFR and KRAS testing in advanced NSCLC, as well as testing in BRAF, ALK, MET, ROS1 and other genes^4–6.

Latest insights

Biomarker testing in early-stage NSCLC patients

In our new article, lung cancer survivor and advocate Terri Conneran and clinician Dr. Colin Lindasy share what biomarker testing means to them and the advances in patient management that can come with the knowledge testing brings.

Read now

Webinars

Webinar highlights

Webinar hub

You can find the recordings for all our lung cancer webinars over on our webinar hub.

Go to hub

Workflows

Identifying relevant mutations in key NSCLC genes is necessary to develop a targeted approach to treatment. We understand that limitations in sample amount and/or type, highly complex workflows and long turnaround times can result in delays to obtaining actionable data. That’s why our Sample to Insight workflows in lung cancer strive to overcome these issues and support your NSCLC research and diagnostics path to oncology advances.

Testimonials

References

The American Cancer Society: Key statistics for lung cancer: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/what-is.html. Accessed: October 17, 2023.

NCI Cancer Stat Facts: Lung and Bronchus Cancer. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/lungb.html. Accessed: October 17, 2023.

Pakkala S, Ramalingam S.S. Personalized therapy for lung cancer: Striking a moving target. JCI Insight. 2018;3(15):e120858.

National Comprehensive Cancer Network.NCCN Guidelines Version 4.2023 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/nscl.pdf(Accessed: October 17, 2023).

Lindeman NI, Cagle PT, Aisner JL, et al. Updated molecular testing guideline for the selection of lung cancer patients for treatment with targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors. J. Thorac. Oncol. 2018;13(3):323-358.

ESMO. Clinical Practice Guidelines. Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. www.esmo.org/content/download/347819/6934778/1/ESMO-CPG-mNSCLC-15SEPT2020.pdf.Accessed: October 17, 2023.