Cancers 2011, 3(2), 2667-2678; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers3022667
The Role of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in the Treatment of Lung Cancer
1
Department of Internal Medicine, National Yang-Ming University Hospital, Yilan 260, Taiwan
2
Department of Chest Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei 220, Taiwan
3
Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 28 April 2011 / Revised: 1 June 2011 / Accepted: 7 June 2011 / Published: 10 June 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lung Cancer)
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases comprise approximately 85% of the lung cancer cases. Before the era of target therapy, platinum-based doublet chemotherapy only led to a median survival of 8–9 months and a one-year survival of 30%–40% in patients with advanced NSCLC. In July 2002, gefitinib, a small-molecule epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), was approved for the treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC in Japan. After the widespread use of gefitinib in the treatment of NSCLC, there have been many new studies regarding the association between the clinical anticancer efficacy of gefitinib and the somatic EGFR mutation status in patients with NSCLC. This article summarizes the role of EGFR mutations in lung cancer and the use of EGFR antagonists in the treatment of lung cancer and its associated adverse effects. View Full-Text
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Chang, S.-C.; Chang, C.-Y.; Shih, J.-Y. The Role of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in the Treatment of Lung Cancer. Cancers 2011, 3, 2667-2678.