Elsevier

Journal of Thoracic Oncology

Volume 11, Issue 9, September 2016, Pages 1411-1422
Journal of Thoracic Oncology

State of the Art: Concise Review
Clinicopathologic Features of Advanced Squamous NSCLC

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2016.05.024Get rights and content
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Abstract

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. NSCLC accounts for more than 85% of all lung cancers, and the prognosis for advanced-stage disease is typically poor. In recent years, the importance of histologic subtypes of NSCLC has been recognized, and the distinction between squamous and other NSCLC histologic subtypes is now critical to patient management. Squamous cell lung cancer (sqCLC) represents approximately 25% to 30% of NSCLC. The prognosis for patients with advanced NSCLC is poorer for those with sqCLC than for those with adenocarcinoma. This is partly due to a number of clinical characteristics that distinguish sqCLC from other NSCLC histologic subtypes, such as smoking history, comorbid diseases, age, and molecular profile. Together, these factors make sqCLC an especially challenging disease to manage. Herein, we review some of the key clinicopathologic features of sqCLC. Understanding these features to optimally address many of the unique therapeutic challenges of this disease is likely to be central to ultimately improving outcomes for patients with squamous NSCLC.

Keywords

NSCLC
Squamous cell lung cancer
Histologic Subtype
Etiology

Cited by (0)

Disclosure: Mark A. Socinski has acted as a consultant/advisor to Eli Lilly and Company. Paul Bunn has received personal fees from Lilly, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Merck, Roche Genentech, Novartis, Pfizer, and Clovis. David Gandara has acted as a consultant/advisor to Lilly and Merck. Fred R. Hirsch has acted as a consultant/advisor to Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Ventana, and Roche/Genentech, and he has received research funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen, and Lilly/Imclone. Corey J. Langer has received honoraria from and acted as a consultant/advisor to Lilly and Roche/Genentech. Carlos Mayo is a former employee of Lilly and a current employee of Merck. Silvia Novello has participated in speakers’ bureaus for Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Roche. Coleman Obasaju is an employee of Lilly. Luis Paz-Ares has received personal fees from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Clovis, Lilly, Roche, Novartis, Merck, Clovis Oncology, Amgen, and Pfizer. Maurice Pérol has acted as a consultant/advisor to AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Lilly, and Roche, and he has received nonfinancial support from Roche. Suresh S. Ramalingam has acted as a consultant/advisor to Amgen, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Genentech, Lilly, and Novartis. Martin Reck has acted as a consultant/advisor to and participated in speakers’ bureaus for AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lilly, Merck, MSD, Pfizer, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, and Celgene. Craig H. Reynolds has received personal fees from Lilly, Genentech, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and Celgene. Thomas E. Stinchcombe has acted as a consultant/advisor to Lilly Oncology. Nick Thatcher has received personal fees from Amgen, Celgene, Oncogenix, AstraZeneca, Roche Genentech, and Otsuka and acted as a consultant/advisor to Lilly. Heather Wakelee has acted as a consultant/advisor to Novartis, ACEA, Pfizer, and Peregrine and has received research funding from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Lilly, MedImmune, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche Genentech, Gilead, and Xcovery. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.