Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide and is the main cause of cancer related deaths in both men and women.

 

It is estimated there were 2.2 million new cases of lung cancer and 1.8 million deaths due to the same in 2020.

 

Lung cancer is historically more common in men; however, the gap is closing.

 

Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, and survival rates greatly vary depending on the stage at the time of diagnosis among other factors. Generally speaking, lung cancer prognosis is usually bad with a relatively low survival rate at 5 years in comparison with other cancers.

 

This study aims to show new forms of lung cancer diagnosis by studying various mutations and proteins, detected chiefly via new generation sequencing (NGS), which has significatively transformed our understanding of cancer, on providing high performance and profitable methods to analyse genomic information. With regard to lung cancer, NGS has played a crucial role in the advancement of our knowledge of this illness likewise improving diagnosis and treatment, not to mention guiding personalised medical focus. Key points highlighting the importance of NGS in lung cancer:

 

 

• Complete genome profile
• Identification of driver mutations
• Patient stratification
• Treatment response prediction
• Monitoring illness progression
• Drug clinical trials and development
• Early detection and prognosis

 

A large meta-analysis together with a detailed study was carried out the ANALIZA laboratory on 86 patients diagnosed with lung cancer. Here, the mutations most frequently encountered in this tumour, namely ALK, ROS1 and EGFR were analysed as well as the positions they occupy in the genes, not to mention programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), an immunological control protein, expressed in activated immune and tumoral cells together with their identification, enables us to direct a more optimised treatment.

 

To sum up, NGS has revolutionised lung cancer research and clinical practice by providing detailed information on the genomic panorama of tumours. That is, NGS facilitates the focus of personalised treatment, early detection and on-going monitoring, which ultimately leads to better results for the patients.

 

Autor Dr. Javier Azúa-Romeo MD, PhD| Director Operativo Anatomía Patológica