Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a subtype of the most frequently diagnosed
cancer in the world. Its epidemiology depends not only on tobacco exposition but also air quality. While the global trends in NSCLC incidence have started to decline, we can observe region-dependent differences related to the education and the economic level of the patients. Due to an increasing understanding of NSCLC biology, new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies have been developed, such as the reorganization of histopathological classification or
tumor genotyping.
Precision medicine is focused on the recognition of a genetic mutation in
lung cancer cells called "driver mutation" to provide a variety of specific inhibitors of improperly functioning
proteins. A rapidly growing group of approved drugs for targeted
therapy in NSCLC currently allows the following mutated
proteins to be treated: EGFR family (ERBB-1, ERBB-2), ALK, ROS1, MET, RET, NTRK, and RAF. Nevertheless, one of the most frequent NSCLC molecular sub-types remains without successful treatment: the K-
Ras protein. In this review, we discuss the current NSCLC landscape treatment focusing on targeted
therapy and
immunotherapy, including first- and second-line monotherapies,
immune checkpoint inhibitors with
chemotherapy treatment, and approved predictive
biomarkers.