Spore Is Focused On A Specific Organ Site, Such As Breast Or Lung Cancer

Dr George R Simon, Professor of Medicine and Section Chief, Translational Research, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas talks about the SPORE programme for controlling lung cancer incidence and explains the role and impact of DNA repair pathways in therapeutic efficacy, in an interview with Viveka Roychowdhury.

- Viveka Roychowdhury

India has a high burden of lung cancer. What are the causes specific to the country for this growing incidence?

About 1.8-2 million new lung cancer cases are estimated to occur globally, 6.9 per cent of which are from India. Globally, the disease is one of the commonest cancers and cause of cancer related deaths, and in India, lung cancer is the commonest cancer and cause of cancer related mortality in men.

Factors that are known to contribute to the growing incidence of lung cancer in India include smoking, bidi smoking, exposure to biomass fuel and environmental pollution. The incidence and pattern of lung cancer tend to differ with geographic region and ethnicity and largely reflect the prevalence and pattern of smoking in the country.

As the Section Chief, Translational Research, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, what are the most promising areas of research to treat lung cancer?

Today, most research on lung cancer is focussed on areas of prevention, early detection and treatment. Promising lung cancer treatment options that have emerged include video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) to treat small lung tumours, image guided radiation therapy (IGRT), newer combinations of chemotherapy drugs, immunotherapy and targeted therapy. Several new and exciting targeted therapies and immunotherapies have been approved in the last two years. These drugs have dramatically improved the lung cancer landscape. Newer treatment strategies evolve as resistance develops to existing treatments. Understanding these resistance treatments leads to the development of newer drugs to mitigate emerging mechanisms of resistance.

Could you give us more details of SPORE, the Specialized Program of Research Excellence programme and what hope does it offer lung cancer patients?