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Why ‘One Size Does Not Fit All’ in Lung Cancer Treatment
Dr. Fred R. Hirsch, executive director at the Center for Thoracic Oncology and co-director of the Center of Excellence for Thoracic Oncology at The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) at Mount Sinai and the Joe Lowe and Louis Price Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is also associate director of Biomarker Discovery for TCI.
Dr. Fred Hirsch highlighted how knowledge of the molecular characteristics of non-small cell lung cancer enhances understanding of the disease.
Having knowledge of the molecular characteristics of non-small cell lung cancer enhances understanding the disease, Dr. Fred R. Hirsch, Joe Lowe and Louis Price Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told CURE.
“It is important to [understand] the molecular characteristics of the cancer, [as this information guides] the therapy we are choosing and [informs] prognosis. We want to give the right therapy to the right patients, and one size does not fit all.” Hirsch said.
Hirsch is also the executive director of the Center for Thoracic Oncology and co-director of the Center of Excellence for Thoracic, as well as the associate director of Biomarker Discovery for Tisch Cancer Institute.
Hirsch sat down for an interview with CURE at the IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss why understanding a patients disease and tumor characteristics is essential for providing personalized treatment tailored to their cancer.
Transcript
Why are the molecular characteristics of non-small cell lung cancer so important in understanding this disease?
Previously, we gave all patients with lung cancer practically the same type of therapy, and that was [typically] chemotherapy. Today, we have moved into personalized medicine, which means that we give patients therapy based on the molecular characteristics of the cancer. That means that we can group patients with lung cancer in different groups based on molecular features of the tumor; we have medicines today which target specific mutations in the tumor, and mutations are the abnormality which drives the tumor.
Therefore, it is important to [understand] the molecular characteristics of the cancer, [as this information guides] the therapy we are choosing and [informs] prognosis. We want to give the right therapy to the right patients, and one size does not fit all.
Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
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