When a doctor gives a patient antibiotics for a bacterial infection, they usually require them to finish the entire treatment, even when symptoms go away. This is to ensure the drugs kill off any remaining bacteria. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Visiting Scientist Raffaella Sordella investigated a similar problem that occurs in some lung cancers.
Approximately 15% of non-small cell lung cancers have a mutation in a growth receptor called EGFR, causing tumor cells to grow uncontrollably. Researchers developed an effective drug that inhibits EGFR and kills cancer cells, but the tumor grows back later. Sordella wanted to understand the molecular mechanisms behind this relapse and how to prevent it.
Sordella and her team discovered that a small percentage of drug-resistant cancer cells were already present before treatment. Instead of relying on EGFR, these cells are dependent on another gene (AXL) for survival. Furthermore, they observed that the cells could transition between these drug-sensitive and drug-resistant “states.” When patients finish EGFR treatment, random modifications constantly occur in the remaining cells, causing both types of cells to grow back.
cshl.edu/preventing-lung-ca...
eLife. Research Paper:
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Heart and double lung transplant 
Lung Reduction Surgery
Multiple lung diseases 
Yendo’s history with lung problems.
