Mind-mapping for lung cancer: towards a personalized therapeutics approach.

There were over 220,000 people diagnosed with lung cancer and over 160,000 people dying of lung cancer during 2010 alone in the United States. In order to arrive at better control, prevention, diagnosis, and therapeutics for lung cancer, we must be able to personalize the approach towards the disease. Mind-mapping has existed for centuries for physicians to properly think about various "flows" of personalized medicine. We include here the epidemiology, diagnosis, histology, and treatment of lung cancer-in particular, non-small cell lung cancer. As we have new molecular signatures for lung cancer, this is further detailed. This review is not meant to be a comprehensive review, but rather its purpose is to highlight important aspects of lung cancer diagnosis, management, and personalized treatment options.