Chemopreventive Therapeutics: Inhalation Therapies for Lung Cancer and Bronchial Premalignancy

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death in the US. In 2001, it is estimated that approx 180,000 new patients will be diagnosed, and close to 90% of them will die of the disease (1 ). The major reasons for such dismal prognoses are the lack of effective preventive and early therapeutic interventions that address the regional nature of the disease and the difficulty in making an early diagnosis when effective loco-regional therapies are technically possible.