The Biology of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease with abundant genomic alterations. Chronic dysregulated airway inflammation facilitates lung tumorigenesis. In contrast, antitumor host immune responses apply continuous selective pressure on the tumor cells during the evolutionary course of the disease. Unprecedented advances in integrative genomic, epigenomic, and cellular profiling of lung cancer and the tumor microenvironment are enhancing the understanding of pulmonary tumorigenesis. This understanding in turn has led to advancements in lung cancer prevention and early detection strategies, and the development of effective targeted therapies and immunotherapies with survival benefit in selected patients.