But many types of human cancer cells also produce VEGF, and they produce higher than normal levels. During the clinical trial, cancer specialists will determine whether or not the therapy impedes the growth of solid tumors and possibly leads to the shrinkage of tumors, especially when administered in combination with standard chemotherapy. In this approach, rather than targeting the malfunctioning genome of cancer cells, we are targeting normal cells with stable genomes around the tumor that respond better than cancer cells to growth signals like the anti-VEGF therapy. Despite the modest improvements of patients with non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for about 70 percent of all lung cancers, the overall mortality rate for lung cancer patients is unacceptably high, Jablons says. Because the prognosis for patients with this advanced cancer remains poor, the development of new treatments for the disease is highly desirable.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide.
About 900,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with the disease each year, according to the World Health Organization. Throughout the United States, about 178,000 cases were newly diagnosed and 160,400 deaths were attributed to lung cancer in 1997. The number of deaths due to lung cancer exceeds those from colon, breast and genital cancers combined.