Lung Cancer Research and the Stigma of Cigarette Smoking

Clinical Pearls

Gregory J. Riely, MD, PhD, vice chair, Clinical Trials Office, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the impact of the stigma of cigarette smoking on lung cancer research.

• Research into lung cancer has been somewhat hindered by the stigma of cigarette smoking.
• Some histologies of lung cancer are more tightly connected with cigarette smoking.
• Small cell and squamous cell tumors are the most tightly linked to cigarette smoking and have had the least funding for research.