Bronchioloalveolar Pathologic Subtype and Smoking History Predict Sensitivity to Gefitinib in Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Our data suggest that individuals in whom gefitinib is efficacious are more likely to have adenocarcinomas of the bronchioloalveolar subtype and to be never smokers. These observations may provide clues to mechanisms determining sensitivity to this agent and suggest that NSCLC has a different biology in patients who never smoked and those with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.