Genetics of lung cancer: Current thinking on genetic predisposition to the disease and response to treatment

Abstract

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world, representing a major public health problem. In the United Kingdom it accounts for ∼19% of all cancers and ∼29% of all cancer deaths, being the commonest cause of cancer death in men, and is second only to breast cancer in women. Tobacco smoking is undoubtedly the major etiological risk factor, the risk being around ten times higher in long-term smokers compared with nonsmokers [1]. Only around 16% of people who smoke develop the disease [2], raising the possibility that individuals may have differing susceptibilities to developing lung cancer when exposed to the same carcinogens, which may in part be genetically defined. Here we review the evidence for a genetic predisposition to lung cancer, the possible molecular basis of an inherited susceptibility, and prediction of response to treatment.