EML4-ALK: honing in on a new target in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Historically, the histologic appearance of lung cancer has been used to guide treatment decisions, primarily distinguishing patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) from those with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Three major subtypes of NSCLC— adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large-cell carcinoma—were grouped together as a single entity for therapy and enrollment of patients onto clinical trials. With the recent regulatory approval of pemetrexed specifically for adenocarcinoma and large-cell carcinoma,2 and bevacizumab for nonsquamous NSCLC,3 the discrimination of specific NSCLC subtypes has grown in significance.

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