Lung cancer and mesothelioma are common cancer types found in the respiratory system. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, and it has a very poor prognosis. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma, accounts for 85% of all lung cancers. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) affects about 10%-15% of the lung cancer population. However SCLC tends to spread quickly and a patient diagnosed with SCLC has limited treatment options. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a neoplasm that arises from the serosal surfaces of pleura, peritoneum, and pericardium. It is a rare disease with approximately one in 100,000 people being diagnosed per year in the US. This disease most often affects individuals that have been exposed to asbestos; however, genetic factors also have a role. MPM is often misdiagnosed as lung cancer but its genomic phenotype is very different from lung cancers.

Traditional chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or chemoradiotherapy has been studied for decades. Despite this, the 5-year survival rate of NSCLC is still approximately 15%. Median survival of MPM patients from the time of diagnosis is approximately 9.2 months. Treatment options for MPM include surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Unfortunately, mesotheliomas are often hard to treat with radiation therapy. Only one targeted therapy drug, sunitinib, and some chemotherapeutic agents, including pemetrexed, have been approved by the FDA for treatment of this disease. The development of immunotherapy brings new hope and added a new dimension to treatment strategies for lung cancer and MPM. Studies combining immunotherapy with more traditional chemotherapies hold the promise of improved outcomes with extended survival times.

The main aim of this special issue is to discuss potential novel treatment strategies for lung cancer, with a focus on SCLC and mesothelioma. The issue should provide a broad overview of the standard treatment options, review current clinical trials, biomarker identification and evaluation, and the challenges faced in making different decisions on treatment. It should also provide some insight into newer and more innovative therapeutic approaches (including preclinical and early stage translational research). We especially welcome original research papers (in vitro, in vivo, or phase I and II clinical trials) or review articles that describe any of the topics including clinical trials related to lung cancer and mesothelioma therapy.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Novel therapeutic strategies in NSCLC, SCLC, and mesothelioma other than targeted and immunotherapy, e.g., radiation therapy and photodynamic therapy
• Early detection, diagnostic, and staging of NSCLC, SCLC, and mesothelioma
• Development of novel biomarkers to predict therapeutic response
• Review of where targeted therapy stands in the world of immunotherapy in NSCLC and mesothelioma
• Review of current challenges in immunotherapy for NSCLC, SCLC, and mesothelioma
• Current stage, challenges, and novel strategies in designing clinical trials