Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Review
Update of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small-cell lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. Prior to the era of targeted therapy, platinum-based doublet chemotherapy was the first-line therapy of choice for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The availability of agents that target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase, as well as inhibitors against anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement or ROS-1 gene rearrangement product, has provided promising clinical benefits in specific subpopulations of NSCLC. ⋯ Thus, the molecular complexity of lung cancer emphasizes the need for optimizing treatment by seeking a more personalized approach to care, including searching for driver oncogenes, managing the emergence of resistance and overcoming that resistance, and optimizing the sequence of treatment. Numerous other novel targeted agents are now in clinical development, including new agents targeting novel pathways and those that may have the potential to overcome the limitations or resistance associated with currently available EGFR-TKIs. In this report, we review the clinical data of EGFR-TKIs as molecular-targeted therapies in NSCLC.