Providing a historical perspective on the etiology of lung cancer, this comprehensive reference presents an in-depth analysis of the epidemiology of cancer of the lung-describing the current understanding of risk factors and the use of epidemiological data to design programs for the control of this leading cause of death worldwide.

This, the first of two volumes on personalized medicine in lung cancer, touches on the core issues related to the understanding of lung cancer—statistics and epidemiology of lung cancer—along with the incidence of lung cancer in non-smokers. A major focus of this volume is the state of current therapies against lung cancer—immune, targeted therapies against EGFR TKIs, KRAS, ALK, angiogenesis; the associated challenges, especially resistance mechanisms; and recent progress in targeted drug development based on metal chemistry. Chapters are written by some of the leading experts in the field, who provide a better understanding of lung cancer, the factors that make it lethal, and current research focused on developing personalized treatment plans. With a unique mix of topics, this volume summarizes the current state-of-knowledge on lung cancer and the available therapies.

This report presents the latest national survival and prevalence statistics for cancers in Australia from 1982 to 2010. Survival from cancer is a key indicator of cancer prognosis, control and treatment. It refers to the probability of being alive for a given amount of time after diagnosis and reflects the severity of a cancer diagnosis.

This atlas illustrates the latest available data on the cancer epidemic, showing causes, stages of development, and prevalence rates of different types of cancers by gender, income group, and region. It also examines the cost of the disease, both in terms of health care and commercial interests, and the steps being taken to curb the epidemic, from research and screening to cancer management programs and health education.

"Surveillance is the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related data essential to the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practice. It is closely integrated with the timely determination of data to those responsible for prevention and control. The atlas visualizes a decade of work in establishing the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS), which has become the largest public health surveillance system ever developed and maintained. The atlas documents the components of the GTSS, which include the monitoring of tobacco use and tobacco control measures among youth, school personnel, health professions students and adults. It maps the coverage of the surveys and provides data on the various elements of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy outlined in the Who- FCTC and MPOWER policy. It illustrates the importance of enhancing country capability to develop, implement and evaluate tobacco control programs though and a systematic framework. This resource will be invaluable to policy makers, public health practitioners, scholars and students interested in tobacco control." - p. 9

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.