Liu J, et al. - In view of the exceptionally high number of deaths from lung cancer in Appalachian Kentucky (AppKY), researchers performed whole-exome sequencing on tumor and normal DNA samples from 51 lung squamous cell carcinoma (SQCC) patients from AppKY to describe genetic alterations in lung SQCC in these residents. Outcomes revealed an increased percentage of IDH1 and PCMTD1 mutations in SQCC arising in the AppKY residents vs the Cancer Genome Atlas. Findings thus suggest population differences in the genetics of lung SQCC between AppKY and US populations. This emphasizes the significance of the pertinent population when a personalized treatment approach has to be developed for this disease.