Potential biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among men and women i n the United States. Early detection of premalignant lesions provides the p ossibility of treatment at earlier stages. Because malignancy develops from genetic alterations, the early detection of these genetic changes should b e associated with the earliest clues to transformation. This article presen ts an overview of detection of molecular markers and their relevance to lun g cancer. In the future, such molecular markers may play a role in guiding therapy for lung cancer.