IL-6 as a potential biomarker in lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Approximately 1.6 million new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year, and 1.4 million deaths are attributed to this disease. At the time of diagnosis, most lung cancer patients are in the advanced stages. Compared with supportive care only, systemic chemotherapy provides survival benefits for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, this survival benefit of chemotherapy is modest and drug resistance develops soon after treatment is initiated. Progress in understanding the molecular pathogenesis and development of targeted therapy has provided dramatic improvements in treating advanced NSCLC.

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