Personalized Therapy for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: Hype or Clinical Reality?

Abstract

OVERVIEW Hyperbole about “personalized” or “individualized” medicine continues to increase exponentially. To leverage this concept, most major academic medical centers in the United States have been unable to resist the temptation to rebrand a portion of their infrastructure as a “Center for Individualized Medicine” or some reasonable facsimile. Cancer care has been at the forefront of this movement. Although the grizzled skeptic might observe this as the latest iteration of undeliverable hype in cancer treatment, recent advances do suggest a changing landscape in how we approach management decisions for the patient with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). An expanding and functionally useful toolbox of novel targeted agents and biomarkers to drive therapeutic choices is beginning to impact patient care. Key advances are reviewed, with commentary and perspective as to what this all means for the practicing thoracic surgical oncologist.