Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the . (1). Although tobacco smoking is accepted as the number one cause of this devastating disease, our understanding of the acquired genetic changes leading to lung cancer is still rudimentary. Lung cancer is classifi ed into two major clinic-pathological groups, small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) (2). Squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma are the major histologic types of NSCLC
