Estrogen receptor signaling in lung cancer

More than 213,000 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2007 and more than 160,000 individuals died from their disease (Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, Murray T, Xu J, Thun MJ. Cancer statistics, 2007. CA Cancer J Clin 2007;57(1):43-66). This underscores the need for new, effective approaches to lung cancer prevention and treatment. Undoubtedly, such approaches will be developed through the discovery and further characterization of pathways on which tumor cells depend for their growth. Sex differences in lung cancer presentation point to a potential role for estrogens in the initiation and/or progression of lung cancer. In this chapter, we review the biology of the estrogen receptor (ER), preclinical studies that demonstrate that estrogen signals through ERβ to promote lung cancer growth, and the clinical trials that have emerged to assess the safety and utility of antiestrogen-based therapies in lung cancer treatment.