Genetic Analysis Shows Promise as Predictor of Need for Chemotherapy

A new 14-gene assay shows promise as a predictor of which early stage lung cancer patients may need chemotherapy because their disease is at highest risk to return after surgery, and those that may not. The study, published in the journal Lancet, is the work of researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and their colleagues in China.

Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer, with more than 226,000 expected to be diagnosed with the disease and 160,000 expected to die from the disease this year in the United States. While rarely caught early when potentially curable, stage I lung cancer presents a challenge to treating physicians. About 50 percent of these patients will recur after surgery, says Ed Kim, M.D., associate professor in MD Anderson's Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology. Kim offered his insight about the study's findings and what it it would mean to have such a tool to ABC News. Watch his video here, and read the story here.