Introduction
ung cancers have the highest
incidence and mortality of all
cancer worldwide [1].
In contrast to the reducing mortality rate
in men, lung cancer mortality rates in
women have been increasing over the
recent years [2].
There are two main variants of the
disease:
- SCLC
- Non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC) accounts for approximately
85% of lung cancers. Histologically,
NSCLC is divided into types as
adenocarcinoma, squamous cell
carcinoma (SCC), and large cell
carcinoma [3].
There are many methods of confirming
the diagnosis which include the
following:
- Sputum cytology
- Endoscopy of the bronchus
- Transthoracic needle biopsy (CTor
fluoroscopy-guided)
- Mediastinoscopy
- Pleural fluid aspiration & analysis
- Thoracoscopy [2,4]
Do we need new diagnostic tools for
NSCLC ?
There are important points:
1- In patients with NSCLC, some
genetic and regulatory abnormalities have
been considered vital for the cancer
survival advantage. In this way, some
researcher focus on the evaluation of a
variety of tumor associated antigens
(TAAs) for a better & early diagnosis[5]
2- Lung cancer patients often do not
exhibit specific symptoms, particularly in
early stages. Therefore, the majority of
lung cancer patients are diagnosed at late
stage, which limit their beneficial
treatment. recently, conventional
diagnostic tests such as chest radiographs,
computed tomography (CT) scans, and
fiber optic bronchoscopy (FOB) are n