Hanyang Med Rev.  2014 Feb;34(1):4-9. 10.7599/hmr.2014.34.1.4.

Molecular Biology of Non-small-cell Lung Cancer

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri, Korea. jhcmd@hanyang.ac.kr

Abstract

In the past decades, substantial developments in the understanding of molecular biology in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have improved diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC based on the genotype of each patient's tumor. For example, gain-of function mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement are sensitive biomarkers in predicting tumor response and survival to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor and ALK inhibitor, respectively. However, since NSCLC is one of the most complex and heterogenous cancers and the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world, there are still many challenges for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of NSCLC. This review summarizes the molecular biology of NSCLC including activation of oncogenes, suppression of tumor suppressor genes, angiogenesis, epigenetic alteration, microRNA, telomerase, cancer stem cell, and cancer genomics using next generation sequencing methods.

Keyword

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Molecular Biology; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung
Diagnosis
Epigenomics
Genes, Tumor Suppressor
Genomics
Genotype
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
Lung Neoplasms*
Lung*
Lymphoma
Methods
MicroRNAs
Molecular Biology*
Neoplastic Stem Cells
Oncogenes
Phosphotransferases
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor
Telomerase
Biomarkers
MicroRNAs
Phosphotransferases
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor
Telomerase

Cited by  1 articles

Recent Progress in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Prime Time for Personalized Therapy
Myung-Ju Ahn
Hanyang Med Rev. 2014;34(1):2-3.    doi: 10.7599/hmr.2014.34.1.2.


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