What is lung cancer?
Lung cancer accounts for more deaths than any other cancer in both men and women, about 28 percent of all cancer deaths. In 2010, an estimated 222,520 Americans were expected to have been diagnosed with lung cancer and 157,300 were expected to have died from their disease.1 The prognosis for lung cancer is poor – most lung cancer patients are diagnosed with advanced cancer and only 16 percent of patients will survive for five years after their diagnosis. TCGA researchers are studying the most common type of lung cancer called non-small cell lung cancers. Specifically, the subtypes being studied are called lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma. View additional information on lung cancer.
What types of discoveries about lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma do The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) researchers hope to make?
- Pinpoint gene changes that divide squamous and adenocarcinoma tumors into molecular subgroups
- Distinguish patterns of gene changes between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma
- Distinguish genomic changes between smokers and non-smokers
Where can I find more information about the TCGA Research Network’s studies or studies using TCGA data?
Where can I find clinical trials to treat lung cancers that are supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)?
1American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2010. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, 2010.