Malignant mesothelioma has been found at higher than expected levels in women and in individuals younger than 55 years old in the southern Nevada counties of Clark and Nye, likewise in the same region carcinogenic mineral fibers including actinolite asbestos, erionite, winchite, magnesioriebeckite and richterite were discovered. These data, published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, suggest that these elevated numbers of malignant mesothelioma cases are linked to environmental exposure of carcinogenic mineral fibers.

Certain rare epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are associated with tobacco smoking, worse prognosis and poor response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy compared to the more common “classical” EGFR mutations. However, as not all rare mutations are the same, testing and therapy may need to be evaluated for each individual mutation.

Results of the NELSON lung cancer screening trial using low dose computed tomography (LDCT) can be used to predict the effect of population-based screening on the Dutch population even though there were slight differences in baseline characteristics of participants in the control arm versus eligible non-participants.

Multiplexed genetic screening for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements and subsequent biomarker-guided treatment is cost-effective compared with standard chemotherapy treatment without any molecular testing in the metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) setting in the United States.