Advanced-stage NSCLC treatment

The increased incidence of late disease presentation calls for more effective treatments

Published on June 1, 2022

In 2018, lung cancer contributed to 21% of all cancer deaths in the UK and only three in 20 patients have a five-year survival rate1. Non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) account for 85% of all lung cancers2. There are multiple subtypes; large-cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, which are both non-squamous, and squamous non-small-cell carcinoma3. This review will focus on non-squamous subtypes.

The detection and diagnosis of lung malignancy include a contrast-enhanced CT scan3. Positron emission tomography (PET)-CT is useful to assess nodal involvement for staging, while MRI is not indicated for NSCLC staging3. Unfortunately, the high lung cancer mortality rate is largely due to late detection as many NSCLC patients present when the disease has reached advanced stages, defined as stage IIIB or IV4, involving lymph node spread and, in some cases, metastases5....

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