Sarcomatoid non-small cell lung cancer responding to sunitinib

摘要

Sarcomatoid NSCLC is a rare subtype of lung cancer, accounting for less than 1% of all lung cancers [1]. Apart from the inhibition of angiogenesis [2], targeted therapy for lung cancer has so far been restricted to those patients bearing EGFR and ALK mutations. Despite recent progress describing the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in the treatment of lung cancer, this treatment approach has not yet become the standard of care, but is rather restricted to those patients bearing tumors with specific molecular aberrations in the EGFR or ALK genes [3]. For sarcomatoid NSCLC, a platinum-based doublet of conventional cytotoxic drugs is the first-line treatment of choice, especially since recent reports critically discuss the presence of EGFR mutations in this specific tumor entity [4, 5]. However, this entity might be another type of NSCLC responding to targeted therapies.