Stem cells that respond after a severe injury in the lungs of mice may be a source of rapidly dividing cells that lead to lung cancer, according to a team of American and British researchers.

“There are chemically resistant, local-tissue stem cells in the lung that only activate after severe injury,” said Barry R. Stripp, Ph.D., professor of medicine and cell biology at Duke University Medical Center.

Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) hailed the US Court of Appeals’ decision on Friday upholding the 2006 ruling that found tobacco companies guilty of fraud and lying about the dangers and addictiveness of smoking.

“This is an extremely important victory,” said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, LCA President & CEO, “as it draws the brightest line on those who have committed decades of massive fraud and deception upon the American public. For the lung cancer community — this is not just long overdue — but life saving.”

A 71-year old man with inoperable lung cancer is able to receive stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) treatment

Surgeons told Donald Bickford, 71, that due to the weakened condition of his lungs, ordinary surgery was not an option for removing his lung tumor. To treat the tumor, Arul Mahadevan, MD, radiation oncologist at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital here, prescribed a type of non-invasive radiosurgery using the Novalis Tx(TM) platform from Varian Medical Systems and BrainLAB.

Using computed tomography scans to screen former asbestos workers can detect both early and late-stage lung cancer and late-stage mesothelioma, according to a study in the May Journal of Thoracic Oncology. However, it’s still not clear whether screening for these cancers might improve patients’ prognoses.

Holliman, D-Davidson, is a two-time survivor of lung cancer who believes his disease was caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. He is the majority leader in the N.C. House and is a vocal advocate for smoking restrictions, including the statewide ban that Gov. Bev Perdue signed into law last week.

An Orono representative is hoping Maine will become the first state in the nation to require that apartment buildings be tested for potentially dangerous levels of radon.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that results from the breakdown of uranium and thorium in the soil or bedrock. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States after smoking, and is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, however, found that only about half the patients diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer discuss hospice with their physician within 4 to 7 months of their diagnosis.

OK. “Hidden” isn’t the right word. But if I asked a number of people to list something that causes 20 to 40% of lung cancer deaths, the correct answer would likely be “hidden” below many other suggestions. Malnutrition, after all, is something that happens in developing countries. Certainly not among lung cancer survivors in the United States.

Most women don’t look forward to their 40th birthday. Kiers Rowley, 39, from Independence can’t wait for hers. “I’m happy to turn 40,” she said. “I’m happy to have gotten this far.” That’s because she wasn’t supposed to live to see it.

She had stage-four lung cancer. To almost 98 percent of people diagnosed, it is fatal.

Researchers involved in an International randomized Phase II clinical trial have shown that Zactima™ (vandetanib) may be more effective than Iressa® (gefitinib) for second-line therapy of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The details of this study appeared in the May 20, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.