Lung cancer biology: a genetic and genomic perspective.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer in most western countries and, as tobacco consumption is not significantly decreasing worldwide, will remain so in the coming decades. Thus, in addition to preventing uptake and encouraging cessation of the smoking habit, it is important to invest in understanding the biology of this type of cancer. Of particular interest are the recent efforts directed towards characterising the entire set of gene alterations in lung cancer. The present review describes the catalogue of known genetic alterations in lung cancer, their biological role and their use in clinical management.