For the last several years, we've known that never-smokers are more likely to have a significant and long-lasting response to EGFR inhibitors. Since then, we've learned that EGFR mutation status is quite correlated with smoking status and is the more important, likely driving factor, but all of this work has led to a new focus on never-smokers and smoking history in general.

Dr. Pinder previously summarized the early story of the newly identified EML4-ALK mutation in NSCLC, which traces back only a couple of years. Amazingly, in that short time, treatments targeting this mutation have already been identified and administered to patients who are benefiting from these novel agents at this very moment.