Targeted therapy for lung cancer: Beyond EGFR and ALK

Cancer. 2023 Jun 15;129(12):1803-1820. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34757. Epub 2023 Apr 19.

Abstract

Precision oncology comprises the set of strategies that aim to design the best cancer treatment based on tumor biology. A recognized subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbor actionable genomic aberrations that can benefit from targeted therapy. In lung cancer, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements are well characterized oncogenic drivers for which the therapeutic use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has demonstrated improved outcomes compared with chemotherapy. Other druggable targets are also well characterized, and effective inhibitors have been developed and commercialized, leading to a paradigm shift in NSCLC treatment. Here, the authors provide a review of the oncogenic role of the most relevant molecular alterations in NSCLC and emerging treatments in this setting beyond EGFR-driven and ALK-driven diseases.

Keywords: driver mutations; genomic aberrations; nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC); targeted therapy; tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI).

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* / drug therapy
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* / pathology
  • ErbB Receptors / genetics
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Lung Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Lung Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy
  • Mutation
  • Precision Medicine
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase
  • ErbB Receptors
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • EGFR protein, human