10(th) Congress on Lung Cancer-updates on clinical trials: goal

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer death and probably one of the most challenging cancers to treat. Platinum-based chemotherapy remains as the standard of treatment for most of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, and although therapeutic improvements have been achieved in the last years, the benefits are quite modest. One of the most important advances in NSCLC care has been the identification of oncogenic mutations that contribute to the pathogenesis of lung cancer, suggesting that some tumors can rely on a specific gene for their survival and proliferation, and the subsequent development of drugs targeted to these specific alterations. Activating mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been the first molecular event that can be targeted with specific drugs in NSCLC. The discovery of the first reversible EGFR small-molecule inhibitors (TKIs) in the past decade, has changed the history of lung cancer treatment. EGFR inhibition has emerged to be an important strategy in the treatment of NSCLC. However, all patients will eventually present progression of disease because of both primary and acquired resistance to EGFR TKIs. In the future, a better understanding of the tumor heterogeneity as well as tumor resistance mechanisms will evolve more rational therapies and potential combinations of different targeted therapies.