The authors of "ALK-Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer: Ready for Prime Time," in this issue of ONCOLOGY, address the newest developments in the field of targeted therapies for advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): the detection of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene translocation and the evaluation of crizotinib, a dual inhibitor of the MET tyrosine kinase and ALK, as therapy for patients with lung tumors harboring the ALK translocation. The last decade has been one of the most exciting periods in thoracic oncology research. During this time, targeted therapies have reached FDA approval and the median overall survival for patients with metastatic NSCLC has reached an all-time high of more than 1 year. Certain subpopulations of NSCLC patients have even greater survival times-namely in the never-smoking and minimal former-smoking populations. Previously, clinical and histologic parameters were the sole determinants of which agents to administer. However, increasing use of molecular tools applied to human tumors has altered the paradigm and will likely drive treatment decisions in the future. The uncontested benefit of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors for patients with EGFR activating mutations[1] has clearly demonstrated the feasibility and power of tumor molecular profiling as a guide for clinical treatment decisions and has paved the way for a new era of personalized treatment for NSCLC.
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