Lung cancer

In the past 12–18 months, there have been an incredible number of studies in lung cancer. This is partly reflected by an increased interest by drug companies to develop agents for this disease, given the large number of patients developing lung cancer, but also because the understanding of the biology of this tumor has led to significant advances in the development of targeted agents. A very large number of novel agents have been tested, especially in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) either as single agents or in combination with chemotherapy. Some novel targeted agents have now shown definite activity in NSCLC, such as EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors and bevacizumab. As in previous years, this chapter will be divided into non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and then mesothelioma and thymoma.