Targeted Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and the availability of comprehensive genomic profiling has allowed for the characterization of its molecular subtypes. This has increased the ability to deliver “personalized medicines” by tailoring therapies to target driver mutations in a patient's cancer. The development of targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has helped define the era of precision medicine throughout oncology. This article aims to contextualize recent research and provide an updated summary of targeted therapies available for patients with NSCLC. With practitioners and clinical researchers in mind, we note standard of care therapies, important approvals, practice guidelines, and treatments in development. The first section discusses mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, and the second section examines rearrangements in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and ROS1 fusions. Finally, we explore the rarer molecular alterations in BRAF, RET, MET, HER2, and KRAS. Given the many available therapies, it is important to understand the molecular alterations in NSCLC, and how to target them.

Camrelizumab plus chemotherapy in advanced non‐squamous non‐small cell lung cancer: Treatment response, survival pattern, and safety

“…[6][7][8] Although the driver-gene-positive patients can benefit from specific targeted therapy, the driver-genenegative patients have limited treatment choices and unsatisfying survival as well. [9][10][11] In order to improve the prognosis of these patients, several immune checkpoint inhibitors (such as nivolumab, pembrolizumab, etc.) have been figured out to break the immune escape.…”

Biomarkers and Gene Signatures to Predict Durable Response to Pembrolizumab in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

“…In fact, most of the NSCLC patients in advanced stage of disease are no candidates for surgery, and small biopsies or cytology samples are the only available diagnostic material in more than 50% of cases [23,24]. In addition, precision medicine in NSCLC includes both ICI and targeted therapies, requiring the characterization of several predictive biomarkers [25,26]. As a consequence, the biological material is almost always a limiting factor for molecular testing in advanced or metastatic NSCLC.…”

ESCO2 promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression by regulating hnRNPA1 acetylation

“…More than 35% of all cancer deaths are from lung cancer (4). In recent years, many targeted therapies, such as anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) (5), EGFR (6), ROS1 (7), RET (8), HER2 (9), and MEK (10), have become available for advanced lung cancer, and more are in development (11). Although there are many means of treating lung cancer, no speci c drugs have been found so far (12).…”