Cancer treatment success depends on early diagnosis. Lung cancer, unfortunately for many, is discovered too late. Various imaging technologies have been used to try to detect early lung cancer with some success and new detection methods are under development.

In a recent study, US scientists have developed a genetic test, the results of which are published online in the journal Nature Medicine that predicts early stages of lung cancer by looking for genetic changes in the cells of a smoker’s airways.

• Dr. Avrum Spira, M.D., M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics and Director, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Program, The Pulmonary Center at Boston University Medical Center