What is the Best Strategy for Targeting EGF Receptors in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer?

ABSTRACT

EGF receptors (EGFRs) are often overexpressed or constitutively activated in non-small-cell lung cancer, and are an important therapeutic target. EGFR signaling can be blocked with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and anti-EGFR antibodies. Three EGFR-TKIs are approved as initial monotherapies in patients with EGFR-activating mutations, and erlotinib has a role as maintenance and second-line therapy. Investigational anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies plus standard first-line therapy improve survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, especially in tumors with high EGFR expression. Anti-EGFR antibodies inhibit EGFR signaling and have the potential to stimulate antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Multikinase TKIs are investigational as first- and second-line therapies, as monotherapies and in combination with chemotherapy. This article summarizes the available clinical data for EGFR-targeted therapies.

KEYWORDS:

• advanced lung cancer
• EGFR
• monoclonal antibodies
• targeted therapy
• tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Financial & competing interests disclosure

R Pirker has received honoraria for advisory boards and speaker’s fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Merck Serono and Roche. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Financial support for medical editorial assistance was provided by ImClone Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company. R Pirker thanks M Hobert, PhD, ProEd Communications, Inc., for medical editorial assistance with this manuscript.