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Non-small cell lung cancer - Investigative Agents

Description

An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Alternative Names

Lung cancer - non-small cell; NSCLC

Investigative Agents:

According to a 2001 article, of the nearly 500 cancer drugs in development, 58 (about 13%) were aimed at fighting lung cancer. Only breast cancer had a higher percentage of new drugs in development. Unfortunately, no drugs to date have shown any real benefit in terms of patient survival. However, some drugs are showing promise, and at this time, these agents are the best hope for improving lung cancer survival rates.

Monoclonal Antibodies (MAbs)

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) are genetically designed immune factors. MAbs mark foreign compounds called antigens for attack by the immune system. Bevacizumab (Avastin) was approved in October 2006 as a first-line treatment (in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel) for inoperable, locally advanced, metastatic, or recurrent non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer. Trastuzumab (Herceptin) and cetuximab (Erbitux) are MAbs under investigation for lung cancer.

All of these MAbs block epidermal growth factor. These drugs are of particular interest for patients who have cancers that produce too much of the protein called HER2. They show great promise in combination with chemotherapies and newer drugs, such as the tyrosine kinase inhibitors. For example, adding bevacizumab to platinum-based chemotherapy extends the disease-free survival time in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Resources

www.cancer.gov -- National Cancer Institute
www.cancer.org -- American Cancer Society
www.cancercare.org -- Cancer Care
www.lungusa.org -- The American Lung Association
www.asco.org -- American Society of Clinical Oncology
www.alcase.org -- Alliance for Lung Cancer
www.lungcancer.org -- Joint project of Cancer Care and the Oncology Nursing Society
www.nccn.org -- National Comprehensive Cancer Network
www.lungcanceronline.org -- Lung cancer information
www.epa.gov/iaq/radon -- National radon information
www.clinicaltrials.gov -- Find clinical trials
www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials -- Find clinical trials

References

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Reviewed last on: 7/23/2009
Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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