In previous studies, doxorubicin has largely been used in cancer treatment because of its broad spectrum of antitumor activity. However, the efficacy of doxorubicin in the treatment of NSCLC remains unsatisfactory with a response rate of 15% [42] . This is in part a result of suboptimal doses within the tumor due to indiscriminate drug distribution throughout the body and severe toxicity to normal tissues and organs. Liposomal encapsulation with a targeting ligand may be an effective strategy to deliver the drug directly to tumor cells. Our data revealed that this peptide markedly increased the therapeutic efficacy of liposomal chemotherapies and resulted in higher survival rates in mice with human lung cancer xenografts, and produced limited side effects on the animals (Fig. 3) . This peptide increased the therapeutic index of not only doxorubicin but also of vinorelbine, a vinca alkaloid used to treat advanced NSCLC [3] . Furthermore, we observed decreased vessel density and substantially increased cell apoptosis in tumor tissues after the targeting liposome treatment (Figs. 5B and S6). This ligand-mediated liposomal formulation is potentially superior to conventional anti-cancer therapy for NSCLC.