Topic overview

Start with the big picture

NSCLC risk is associated with cigarette smoke, radon, occupational exposures such as asbestos and silica, and prior thoracic radiation. TNM staging guides treatment, while molecular profiling is important in advanced disease. Early-stage options include surgery or stereotactic body radiation therapy for patients who cannot undergo surgery; unresectable stage III disease may be treated with concurrent chemoradiation followed by durvalumab. For metastatic disease, treatment selection depends on driver alterations and PD-L1 status, with targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and platinum-based chemotherapy among the approaches described. The lesson also covers histology-specific chemotherapy choices, maintenance strategies, important drug toxicities, antiemetic support, and imaging-based response assessment.