 Introduction/Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. While the incidence of the disease for men in the United States has been steadily decreasing since the 1970s, the incidence for women in the United States increased after 1975 before leveling in the 2000s [1]. The major risk factor for lung cancer is personal tobacco smoking, particularly for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and squamous-cell lung cancers, but other significant risk factors include exposure to second-hand smoke, environmental radon, occupational exposures, and air pollution. Education and socioeconomic status affect both incidence and outcomes, with a disproportionate amount of the disease burden seen in the poor and poorly educated. The economic cost of caring for lung cancer patients in the United States is over $12 billion per year. Mortality cost from lost productivity also numbers in the billions of dollars [2]. aThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. bPanel Chair, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. cMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. dStanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California; The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. eThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. fUniversity of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. gUniversity of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. hMayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. iHenry Ford Cancer Institute, Detroit, Michigan. jDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. kUniversity of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas. lUniversity of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California. mSpecialty Chair, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin.
Noninvasive Clinical Staging of Primary Lung Cancer PCAs.  Introduction/Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. While the incidence of the disease for men in the United States has been steadily decreasing since the 1970s, the incidence for women in the United States increased after 1975 before leveling in the 2000s [1]. The major risk factor for lung cancer is personal tobacco smoking, particularly for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and squamous-cell lung cancers, but other significant risk factors include exposure to second-hand smoke, environmental radon, occupational exposures, and air pollution. Education and socioeconomic status affect both incidence and outcomes, with a disproportionate amount of the disease burden seen in the poor and poorly educated. The economic cost of caring for lung cancer patients in the United States is over $12 billion per year. Mortality cost from lost productivity also numbers in the billions of dollars [2]. aThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. bPanel Chair, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. cMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. dStanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California; The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. eThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. fUniversity of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. gUniversity of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. hMayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. iHenry Ford Cancer Institute, Detroit, Michigan. jDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. kUniversity of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas. lUniversity of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California. mSpecialty Chair, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin.