Targeted therapy for squamous cell lung cancer

Abstract

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) is the second most common subtype of non-small-cell lung cancer and leads to 40,000-50,000 deaths per year in the USA. Management of non-small-cell lung cancer has dramatically changed over the past decade with the introduction of targeted therapeutic agents for genotypically selected individuals with lung adenocarcinoma. These agents lead to improved outcomes, and it has now become the standard of care to perform routine molecular genotyping of lung adenocarcinomas. By contrast, progress in lung SqCC has been modest, and there has yet to be a successful demonstration of targeted therapy in this disease. Here, we review exciting work from ongoing genomic characterization and biomarker validation efforts that have nominated several likely therapeutic targets in lung SqCCs. These studies suggest that targeted therapies are likely to be successful in the treatment of lung SqCCs and should be further explored in both preclinical models and in clinical trials.

Figure 1. Current diagnostic and treatment paradigms for lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell lung cancer

Tumor genotyping and the use of targeted agents are now routine in lung adenocarcinoma, but not for squamous cell lung cancer.

Figure 2. Targetable alterations in lung squamous cell carcinomas

The pie chart indicates potential targetable genomic alterations identified in recent genomic studies of squamous cell lung cancers and their approximate frequencies. The table describes the alterations depicted in the pie chart.