Lung cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in both men and women. Over the past 20 years, substantial progress has been made in uncovering the underlying genomics of lung cancer development and progression. For a subset of patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma, next-generation sequencing techniques allow for detection of genetic mutations that can be targeted by tyrosine kinase inhibitors, improving survival. For patients with metastatic lung cancer without known driver mutations, immune checkpoint blockade has also prolonged overall survival and now genomic methods are being utilized to explore underlying mechanisms of treatment sensitivity or resistance. In the early stage disease setting, circulating tumor DNA is now being investigated as a method to enhance lung cancer screening efforts or detect early relapse of localized disease. Through a better understanding of genomics and the application to personalized care, lung cancer has seen dramatic improvements in outcomes.