Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC): Implications on molecular pathology and advances in early diagnostics and therapeutics.

Continuous revision of the histologic and stage-wise classification of lung cancer by the World Health Organization (WHO) provides the foundation for therapeutic advances by promoting molecular targeted and immunotherapies and ensuring accurate diagnosis. Cancer epidemiologic data provide helpful information for cancer prevention, diagnosis, and management, supporting health-care interventions. Global cancer mortality projections from 2016 to 2060 show that cancer will overtake ischemic heart diseases (IHD) as the leading cause of death (18.9 million) immediately after 2030, surpassing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for 85 percent of lung cancers. The clinical stage at the diagnosis is the main prognostic factor in NSCLC therapies. Advanced early diagnostic methods are essential as the initial stages of cancer show reduced mortality compared to the advanced stages. Sophisticated approaches to proper histological classification and NSCLC management have improved clinical efficiency. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and targeted molecular therapies have refined the therapeutic management of late-stage NSCLC, the specificity and sensitivity of cancer biomarkers should be improved by focusing on prospective studies, followed by their use as therapeutic tools. The liquid biopsy candidates such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating cell-free tumor DNA (cfDNA), tumor educated platelets (TEP), and extracellular vesicles (EVs) possess cancer-derived biomolecules and aid in tracing: driver mutations leading to cancer, acquired resistance caused by various generations of therapeutic agents, refractory disease, prognosis, and surveillance. [Abstract copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.

Cancer chemotherapy and beyond: Current status, drug candidates, associated risks and progress in targeted therapeutics

Cancer is an abnormal state of cells where they undergo uncontrolled proliferation and produce aggressive malignancies that cause millions of deaths every year. With the new understanding of the molecular mechanism(s) of disease progression, our knowledge about the disease is snowballing, leading to the evolution of many new therapeutic regimes and their successive trials. In the past few decades, various combinations of therapies have been proposed and are presently employed in the treatment of diverse cancers. Targeted drug therapy, immunotherapy, and personalized medicines are now largely being employed, which were not common a few years back. The field of cancer discoveries and therapeutics are evolving fast as cancer type-specific biomarkers are progressively being identified and several types of cancers are nowadays undergoing systematic therapies, extending patients’ disease-free survival thereafter. Although growing evidence shows that a systematic and targeted approach could be the future of cancer medicine, chemotherapy remains a largely opted therapeutic option despite its known side effects on the patient’s physical and psychological health. Chemotherapeutic agents/pharmaceuticals served a great purpose over the past few decades and have remained the frontline choice for advanced-stage malignancies where surgery and/or radiation therapy cannot be prescribed due to specific reasons. The present report succinctly reviews the existing and contemporary advancements in chemotherapy and assesses the status of the enrolled drugs/pharmaceuticals; it also comprehensively discusses the emerging role of specific/targeted therapeutic strategies that are presently being employed to achieve better clinical success/survival rate in cancer patients.All the authors are highly grateful and acknowledge to the authority of the respective departments and institutions for their support in carrying out this research. The authors also express their sincere gratitude to the unknown referee for critically reviewing the manuscript and suggesting useful changes. This research was funded by "Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información (ACIISI) del Gobierno de Canarias” (No. ProID2020010134), and o´Caja Canarias (Project No. 2019SP43).Peer reviewe

Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC): Implications on molecular pathology and advances in early diagnostics and therapeutics

Continuous revision of the histologic and stage-wise classification of lung cancer by the World Health Organization (WHO) provides the foundation for therapeutic advances by promoting molecular targeted and immunotherapies and ensuring accurate diagnosis. Cancer epidemiologic data provide helpful information for cancer prevention, diagnosis, and management, supporting health-care interventions. Global cancer mortality projections from 2016 to 2060 show that cancer will overtake ischemic heart diseases (IHD) as the leading cause of death (18.9 million) immediately after 2030, surpassing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for 85 percent of lung cancers. The clinical stage at the diagnosis is the main prognostic factor in NSCLC therapies. Advanced early diagnostic methods are essential as the initial stages of cancer show reduced mortality compared to the advanced stages. Sophisticated approaches to proper histological classification and NSCLC management have improved clinical efficiency. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and targeted molecular therapies have refined the therapeutic management of late-stage NSCLC, the specificity and sensitivity of cancer biomarkers should be improved by focusing on prospective studies, followed by their use as therapeutic tools. The liquid biopsy candidates such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating cell-free tumor DNA (cfDNA), tumor educated platelets (TEP), and extracellular vesicles (EVs) possess cancer-derived biomolecules and aid in tracing: driver mutations leading to cancer, acquired resistance caused by various generations of therapeutic agents, refractory disease, prognosis, and surveillance