Cancer and Genetics

Fundamentally, cancer is a genetic disease caused by gene variations or epigenetic alterations. However, even the same tumor can be caused by different genetic variations, which is the heterogeneity of the tumor. Even patients with the same pathological type of tumor may respond differently to the treatment because of heterogeneity. Precision medicine is an individualized medical model based on the rapid development of genome sequencing technology and the vigorous rise of biological information and big data science. According to the different molecular types of patients, different treatment regimens are the most reliable methods to improve response and reduce adverse reactions. With the continuous progress of biological detection technology, the cost of human gene molecular typing is becoming lower while the accuracy is getting higher, and individualized treatment is gradually becoming reality.

In recent years, the incidence and mortality of lung cancer have shown a sharp rise in the world. What’s more, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide, with 1.38 million people dying every year, accounting for 18.2% of the total cancer deaths. It is also the cancer with the highest morbidity and mortality in China, approximately 781,000 new cases and 626,000 deaths had been reported in 2014. Based on the data from the Global cancer statistics 2018, it shows that among the males, incidence rate of the NSCLC is 223.0 per 100,000 and mortality rate is 166.6 per 100,000. Besides, in the female, the incidence rate is 182.6 per 100,000. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 80–85% of lung cancer, and its clinical manifestations are complex and diverse. There are many risks associated with surgical management of advanced NSCLC , drug therapy for advanced NSCLC is safer than surgical treatment. Patients with the same pathological type of NSCLC may have different responses to the same anticancer drug. At present, the pathogenic genes of NSCLC have been studied most thoroughly and targeted therapy based on genotyping has been the most successful. The purpose of this article is to review the accurate treatment of advanced NSCLC based on genotyping, including targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and comparison of several common detection methods.

Regards

Alex John
Editorial assistant
Immunotherapy Open Access