Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide and is a major health problem in both developed and developing countries in the world. It is expected that lung cancer will remain a major health problem for the next 30–40 years at least. Untreated lung cancer has a high mortality rate with 95% patients dying within 1 year. Treatment for NSCLC is planned according to the clinico-radiological stage, cardio-pulmonary reserve, performance status and includes multimodality treatment. Early-stage NSCLC is treated with surgery and adjuvant therapy. Locally advanced NSCLC is treated with a combination of external-beam radiation therapy and chemotherapy; metastatic disease is treated with systemic therapy. Biomarkers in NSCLC are important prognostic and predictive factors; treatment with targeted therapy and immunotherapy for advanced NSCLC has resulted in a new paradigm of treatment options with consequential improvement in survival, better response rates and safer, yet unique toxicity profile when compared to chemotherapy.