ABSTRACT
Lung cancer has a high incidence and mortality, being the most common cause of cancer death worldwide and the rst among men in industrialized countries. It is estimated to account for 960,000 new cases and 850,000 deaths each year among men, and 390,000 cases and 330,000 deaths among women (Boyle and Levin, 2008). In 1987, lung cancer mortality surpassed breast cancer mortality among North American women and its incidence is still rising throughout the world. Furthermore, it has a low survival, with only 36% surviving one year after the diagnosis and a 12% surviving 5 years, according to the recently published EUROCARE IV study (Sant et al., 2009). This survival has not improved in the last 30 years. The factor with the highest in uence on survival is the stage at diagnosis, with stage I individuals having a relatively good survival record. Nevertheless, more than 50% of all cases are diagnosed at stage IV, when surgery cannot be performed, and the disease has spread into the body. Currently, there are no effective screening strategies for lung cancer.
