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Establishment and Characterization of Three Afatinib-resistant Lung Adenocarcinoma PC-9 Cell Lines Developed with Increasing Doses of Afatinib
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Erlotinib in cancer treatment

M A Bareschino1, C Schettino, T Troiani

  • 1Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine and Surgery F. Magrassi and A. Lanzara, Second University of Naples, School of Medicine, Naples, Italy.

Annals of Oncology : Official Journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology
|September 27, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Erlotinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, demonstrates survival benefits in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic cancer. Further research explores predictive factors for erlotinib efficacy across various tumor types.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase (TK) implicated in epithelial tumor progression.
  • EGFR signaling pathways regulate cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis.
  • EGFR-targeted therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and TK inhibitors, represent key advancements in cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the clinical efficacy of erlotinib, a selective EGFR TK inhibitor.
  • To summarize erlotinib's approved indications and ongoing investigations in various cancer types.
  • To discuss factors predicting erlotinib treatment response.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical trial data, focusing on erlotinib in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pancreatic cancer, and head and neck cancers.
  • Analysis of published literature on erlotinib's efficacy and safety.
  • Examination of studies investigating predictive biomarkers for erlotinib response.

Main Results:

  • Erlotinib demonstrated a survival benefit in advanced NSCLC patients post-chemotherapy failure (BR21 trial).
  • Erlotinib is approved for advanced pancreatic cancer in combination with gemcitabine.
  • Ongoing research is evaluating erlotinib in other tumor types and identifying predictive factors.

Conclusions:

  • Erlotinib is an established therapy for advanced NSCLC and pancreatic cancer.
  • Predictive biomarkers are crucial for optimizing erlotinib treatment strategies.
  • Further clinical investigations are warranted to expand erlotinib's therapeutic applications.

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