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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.
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.