Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, accounting for the most cancer deaths each year. It is very hard to detect in its early stages and may take years to grow.

"I started out the day as a healthy, 52-year-old, non-smoker. But by the end of the day, a sudden seizure had landed me in the hospital and I was diagnosed with inoperable, Stage IV lung cancer that had spread to my brain. I consulted with Dr. Nagourney at his research laboratory, Rational Therapeutics. He examined me and then explained I wasn’t sick, I had cancer, and his goal was to keep me from getting sick." Read Pat Merwin’s entire story.

Types of Lung Cancers

Lung cancer can form anywhere in the lung tissue, but more than 90 percent of these cancers are thought to arise in the epithelial cells which line the airways. The most common forms of this cancer are:

• Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is almost always associated with smoking and comprises less than 20 percent of all lung cases diagnosed. It often starts in the bronchi (near the center of the chest) and it tends to spread throughout the body fairly early in the course of the disease.
• Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80 – 90 percent of all lung cancers. There are three major sub-types of NSCLC:
• Squamous cell carcinoma tends to be found in the central portions of the lung and is typically associated with smoking.
• Adenocarcinoma is usually found in the outer part of the lung.
• Large-cell carcinoma typically grow and spread quickly and can be found in any part of the lung.
• Lung mesothelioma is found in the lining of the lungs. Typically this type of cancer is due to asbestos exposure and it may take up to 50 years for the symptoms to appear.

"One of the luckiest days of my life was when Dr. Nagourney agreed to meet with me. He explained the basis for his approach to treating cancer was to obtain a sample of the cancerous tissue and test a wide variety of chemo medicines against it. The chemo(s) that responded the best to eliminating the cancer were then to be used to battle it." Read David Hanbidge’s entire story.

Common Treatments for Lung Cancer

Currently, oncologists base their treatment strategy on standard chemotherapy protocols for specific types of cancer. For NSCLC patients, it is usually one of several platinum doublets that combine cisplatin or carboplatin with vinorelbine, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, Docetaxel or pemetrexed. While small cell patients most often receive cisplatin plus etoposide or cisplatin plus irinotecan.

These protocols, developed over years of clinical trials, assign patients to the drugs for which they have the greatest statistical probability of response. The fact that all patients with lung cancer will have an equal likelihood of response to a drug does not mean they will respond equally. Lung cancer patients may be responsive to drugs or drug combinations that would not otherwise be considered for their condition. The graph below illustrates the results of an analysis in small cell lung cancer, published by investigators at the National Cancer Institute, utilizing the laboratory techniques developed and applied at Rational Therapeutics.

Just like in the cases of Pat Merwin, David Hanbidge and the other lung cancer patients helped by our staff at Rational Therapeutics, let us help find the right treatment for you. Read their stories.

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