Non-small-cell lung cancer: targeted therapies

摘要

The major progresses in understanding cancer biology and the mechanism of oncogenesis have allowed the development of several potential molecular target drugs for cancer treatment, which are components of signaling pathways or metabolic processes contributing to the acquisition of cancer phenotype. A general better tolerability, owing to a milder toxicity profile than conventional chemotherapy, better target selectivity, availability for chronic treatment and, in some cases, oral administration, have marked these new targeted compounds as the most promising investigational drugs for cancer therapy. Several targeted agents have been extensively employed for the treatment of lung cancer, which remains the main killer. In fact, lung tumors are the leading cause of mortality due to cancer, with approximately 1.35 million new diagnoses and 1.18 million deaths worldwide in 2002 [l]. Lung cancer includes two main groups: non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for more than 80% and comprises squamous carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and undifferentiated large-cell carcinoma, and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) [2].