Epidermal growth factor receptor
(EGFR) is of great significance
in mediating cell signaling transduction and tumor behaviors. Currently,
third-generation inhibitors of EGFR, especially osimertinib, are at
the clinical frontier for the treatment of EGFR-mutant non-small-cell
lung cancer (NSCLC). Regrettably, the rapidly developing drug resistance
caused by EGFR mutations and the compensatory mechanism have largely
limited their clinical efficacy. Given the synergistic effect between
EGFR and other compensatory targets during tumorigenesis and tumor
development, EGFR dual-target inhibitors are promising for their reduced
risk of drug resistance, higher efficacy, lower dosage, and fewer
adverse events than those of single-target inhibitors. Hence, we present
the synergistic mechanism underlying the role of EGFR dual-target
inhibitors against drug resistance, their structure–activity
relationships, and their therapeutic potential. Most importantly,
we emphasize the optimal target combinations and design strategies
for EGFR dual-target inhibitors and provide some perspectives on new
challenges and future directions in this field.