While our bodies can have a wide range of naturally occurring, harmless mutations in different genes, some mutations, called driver mutations, are key to driving the development of cancer. There are many driver mutations. Researchers have been developing drugs that target specific driver mutations in lung cancer, creating therapies for those patients whose lung cancer harbors them. Early Targeting of EGFR In the early 2000s, EGFR was the first gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to be matched with a targeted therapy. Originally, researchers focused on the two driver mutations in the

Researchers have made tremendous progress in treating lung cancer by identifying key mutations in genes that drive the growth of lung cancer. Once these “driver” mutations are identified, researchers can work to target these mutations with specific treatments, called targeted therapies. FDA-approved targeted therapies exist for treating EGFR-positive NSCLC, or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients whose tumors test positive for exon19 and exon21 L858R mutations in the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene. But there are patients with NSCLC whose tumors have other EGFR mutations

Take a behind-the-scenes look at how researchers study lung cancer. Join lung cancer researcher Triparna Sen, PhD, as she digs into what’s known about how EGFR-positive NSCLC cells transform into SCLC to escape targeted therapy treatment. SCLC transformation is a common resistance mechanism for multiple types of NSCLC, including EGFR, ALK, and RET. This Facebook Live event is hosted by Amy Moore, PhD, LUNGevity’s Vice President of Global Engagements and Patient Partnerships. Dr. Sen is Co-Director of the Lung Cancer PDX Platform at the Center for Thoracic Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at

Drs. Upal Basu Roy, Amy Moore, and Dhru Deb discuss their recent publication in which they presented an analysis of the lung cancer drug pipeline. They talk about what it means for patients, new drugs under development for NSCLC and SCLC, and some of the ongoing challenges and opportunities this rapid growth means for the lung cancer community.

Historically, surgery has been the most effective treatment for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While technological improvements, such as the development of minimally invasive techniques (such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or VATS), have made surgeries safer for patients, the ability to cure early-stage NSCLC patients hasn’t improved significantly in recent decades. Even after successful surgeries that completely remove the visible tumor, about half of these patients will face a recurrence with their cancer coming back within five years. Researchers have

The development of “targeted therapies” which block the function of mutant proteins within tumor cells has revolutionized the treatment landscape for many cancers, most of all lung cancer. EGFR is one such protein which is often altered (mutated) in lung cancers. Over the past decade, multiple EGFR targeted therapies have been developed, with each generation of drugs becoming increasingly potent. At present, patients with advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer are treated with osimertinib (Tagrisso®), the latest and most effective FDA-approved EGFR targeted therapy to date. Unfortunately, despite