Update on biomarkers for the stratification of indeterminate pulmonary nodules.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. Early detection and diagnosis are critical as survival decreases with advanced stages. Approximately 1.6 million nodules are incidentally detected every year on chest computed tomography in the United States. This number of nodules identified is likely much larger after accounting for screening detected nodules. Most of these nodules, whether incidentally or screening-detected, are benign. Despite this, many patients undergo unnecessary invasive procedures to rule out cancer as our current stratification approaches are suboptimal, particularly for intermediate probability nodules. Thus, non-invasive strategies are urgently needed.