Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · Oct 2005
ReviewErlotinib: small-molecule targeted therapy in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer.
Erlotinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, targeting the human epidermal receptor type 1/ epidermal growth factor receptor, recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after the failure of more than 1 or 2 previous chemotherapeutic regimens. ⋯ For patients with NSCLC in whom more than 1 or 2 previous chemotherapeutic regimens have failed, erlotinib is an effective therapy with significant overall survival benefits. The use of erlotinib as first-line therapy in combination with platinum-based chemotherapeutic regimens, however, has failed to demonstrate efficacy in the treatment of NSCLC.