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Review
. 2016 Jun 23:10:648.
doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2016.648. eCollection 2016.

Targeted therapies and immunotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer

D Cortinovis  1 , M Abbate  1 , P Bidoli  1 , S Capici  1 , S Canova  1
Affiliations
Review

Targeted therapies and immunotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer

D Cortinovis et al. Ecancermedicalscience. .

Abstract

Non-small-cell lung cancer is still considered a difficult disease to manage because of its aggressiveness and resistance to common therapies. Chemotherapy remains the gold standard in nearly 80% of lung cancers, but clinical outcomes are discouraging, and the impact on median overall survival (OS) barely reaches 12 months. At the end of the last century, the discovery of oncogene-driven tumours completely changed the therapeutic landscape in lung cancers, harbouring specific gene mutations/translocations. Epidermal growth factors receptor (EGFR) common mutations first and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations later led new insights in lung cancer biology knowledge. The use of specific tyrosine kinases inhibitors overturned the biological behaviour of EGFR mutation positive tumours and became a preclinical model to understand the heterogeneity of lung cancers and the mechanisms of drug resistance. In this review, we summarise the employment of targeted agents against the most representative biomolecular alterations and provide some criticisms of the therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: immunotherapy; non-small cell lung cancer; oncogene drivers; targeted agents.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Actual therapeutic strategy for EGFR-positive advanced NSCLC.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. The next future therapeutic strategy for EGFR-positive advanced NSCLC.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Late future therapeutic strategy for EGFR-positive advanced NSCLC.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. The therapeutic strategy of ALK-positive advanced NSCLC: current events in Italy.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.. The optimal management of ALK-positive patients: dreaming the future.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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