Onkológia 1/2011

Targeted biological therapy for lung cancer – current status and perspectives

Currently used targeted biological drugs for lung cancer are aimed at two targets: EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) – erlotinib, gefitinib and cetuximab (not yet approved for NSCLC in the EU), and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis – bevacizumab. All are indicated for advanced/metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in the case of bevacizumab other than with a predominance of squamous component. There are more than 20 groups of targeted agents and about 200 drugs in clinical research. Among the most noteworthy are inhibitors of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) HDAC (histone deacetylases) inhibitors, integrin inhibitors and proteasome inhibitors. Recently the possibillity of ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) inhibition has attracted much attention in patients with the relevant gene translocation.

Keywords: lung cancer, NSCLC, targeted therapy, inhibitors.