Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: UMLS:C0242379 (lung cancer)
71,905 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Although treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer has been improved with the availability of such new agents as the taxanes, topoisomerase inhibitors, vinorelbine (Navelbine), and gemcitabine (Gemzar), platinum-based combination therapy has appeared to reach a threshold of therapeutic effectiveness. A paradigm shift in approach to non-small-cell lung cancer and other tumors may be heralded by the development of agents targeting specific biologic pathways in tumor development. Such new agents include antibody epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors (eg, the monoclonal antibodies trastuzumab [Herceptin] and cetuximab [IMC-C225, Erbitux]) and EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (eg, ZD1839 [Iressa] and OSI-774), angiogenesis inhibitors (eg, matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors (eg, monoclonal antibody to VEGF ligand and small-molecule tyrosine kinase), and signal transduction inhibitors (eg, ISIS-3521, an antisense oligonucleotide to protein kinase C-alpha). A number of these agents have entered advanced-phase clinical investigation. It is likely that targeted therapy will have applications in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiation therapy at all stages of treatment, including maintenance therapy. It is even possible that these new biologic therapies will be used together as rational combinations (based on pathologic diagnosis) for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.
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PMID:Targeted therapy in non-small-cell lung cancer. 1237 97

Rash is a class effect of HER1/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted agents, and has occurred with high frequency and in a dose-dependent manner in clinical trials of these agents in cancer patients. Analysis of phase II trials of erlotinib (Tarceva) in non-small-cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and ovarian cancer shows a significant association between rash severity and objective tumor response. Rash severity was highly significantly associated with survival in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer receiving erlotinib; median survival in patients with no rash was 46.5 days, compared with 257 days in those with grade 1 rash (P < .0001) and 597 days in those with grade 2/3 rash (P < .0001). Similarly, for the combined non-small-cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and ovarian cancer studies, median survival in patients with no rash was 103 days, compared with 191 days in those with grade 1 rash (P = .0001) and 266 days in those with grade 2/3/4 rash (P = .0001). Similar findings have been made with cetuximab (Erbitux) and in some settings with gefitinib (Iressa). The strong association of rash severity with response/survival suggests that rash may serve as a marker of response to erlotinib treatment and may be used to guide treatment to obtain optimal response. Dosing erlotinib at the maximum tolerated dose, which is associated with more frequent and more severe rash, may improve response rates and survival durations. Further study of the potentially important association between rash and outcome of treatment with EGFR-targeted agents is needed.
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PMID:Can rash associated with HER1/EGFR inhibition be used as a marker of treatment outcome? 1468 20

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a promising target for cancer therapy and a number of EGFR-targeted agents have been developed. Those most advanced in development are the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib ('Iressa', ZD1839) and erlotinib ('Tarceva', OSI-774), and the monoclonal antibody cetuximab ('Erbitux', IMC-C225). This review provides a clinical overview of these agents, highlighting their antitumour activities in different tumour types. Epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted agents are generally well tolerated and are not typically associated with the severe adverse events often seen with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Gefitinib is the agent with the most extensive clinical experience, particularly in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, gefitinib became the first-approved EGFR-targeted agent, for use in patients with previously treated advanced NSCLC in Japan, the USA and other countries. Further studies are required to explore the full potential of these novel agents either as monotherapy or combination therapy.
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PMID:Gefitinib ('Iressa', ZD1839) and new epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors. 1476 Mar 65

Combination chemotherapy regimens have emerged as the standard approach in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Meta-analyses have demonstrated a 2-month increase in median survival after platinum-based therapy vs. best supportive care, and an absolute 10% improvement in the 1-year survival rate. Just as importantly, cytotoxic therapy has produced benefits in symptom control and quality of life. Newer agents, including the taxanes, vinorelbine, gemcitabine, and irinotecan, have expanded our therapeutic options in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Despite their contributions, we have reached a therapeutic plateau, with response rates seldom exceeding 30-40% in cooperative group studies and 1-year survival rates stable between 30% and 40%. It is doubtful that substituting one agent for another in various combinations will lead to any further improvement in these rates. The thrust of current research has focused on targeted therapy, and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition is one of the most promising clinical strategies. Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors currently under investigation include the small molecules gefitinib (Iressa, ZD1839) and erlotinib (Tarceva, OSI-774), as well as monoclonal antibodies such as cetuximab (IMC-225, Erbitux). Agents that have only begun to undergo clinical evaluation include CI-1033, an irreversible pan-erbB tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and PKI166 and GW572016, both examples of dual kinase inhibitors (inhibiting epidermal growth factor receptor and Her2). Preclinical models have demonstrated synergy for all these agents in combination with either chemotherapy or radiotherapy, leading to great enthusiasm regarding their ultimate contribution to lung cancer therapy. However, serious clinical challenges persist. These include the identification of the optimal dose(s); the proper integration of these agents into popular, established cytotoxic regimens; and the selection of the optimal setting(s) in which to test these compounds. Both gefitinib and erlotinib have shown clinical activity in pretreated, advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, but placebo-controlled randomized Phase III studies evaluating gefitinib in combination with standard cytotoxic therapy, to our chagrin, have failed to demonstrate a survival advantage compared with chemotherapy alone.
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PMID:Emerging role of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition in therapy for advanced malignancy: focus on NSCLC. 1496 61

The treatment of aerodigestive tract tumors remains difficult despite improved techniques in detection, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Therefore, strategies to improve efficacy in accord with safety are needed. The epidermal growth factor receptor has become a target of increasing interest. Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody targeting this receptor. A series of phase I and II studies of cetuximab in combination with radiotherapy or chemotherapy have been conducted initially to determine the optimal biological dose (ie, tumor epidermal growth factor receptor-saturating dose) and to establish a safety profile with cetuximab in combination with other antitumor agents. Ultimately, these therapies may become valuable contributors in the treatment of head and neck cancer and lung cancer. This report will focus specifically on the epidermal growth factor receptor and cetuximab.
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PMID:Cetuximab in cancers of the lung and head & neck. 1498 82

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Current treatment modalities, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, provide only limited improvement in the natural course of this disease. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic strategies is highly awaited. This review focuses on recent achievements on a novel class of anticancer drugs targeting the EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor). The EGFR family is a group of four structurally similar growth factor receptors with tyrosine-kinase activity (EGFR, HER2/neu, ErbB-3, ErbB-4), which dimerize upon binding with a number of ligands, including EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor) and TGF (Transforming Growth Factor), allowing downstream transduction of mitogenic signals. Overexpression of EGFR and HER2 is frequently found in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for over 80% of all malignant lung tumors, and has been associated with a worse clinical outcome. New agents developed to inhibit EGFR function include monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors. In this review, results of most recent clinical with EGFR inhibitors including monoclonal antibodies, such as Trastuzumab (Herceptin), IMC-C225 (Cetuximab) and others (ABX-EGF, EMD 72000), and tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, such as ZD1839 (Gefitinib, Iressa), OSI-774 (Erlotinib, Tarceva) and others (CI-1033, GW2016), are summarized. In particular, final results of phase II (IDEAL 1 and 2) and III (INTACT 1 and 2) studies of ZD1839 are reported. In IDEAL trials (ZD1839 single agent in patients pre-treated with chemotherapy) there was clear evidence of tumor regression, symptoms improvement and overall clinical benefit, whereas in the two INTACT trials (ZD1839 in combination with standard platinum-based chemotherapy in chemo-naive patients) ZD1839 did not improve either survival or other clinical endpoints. Possible explanations for these contradictory results and future perspectives are discussed.
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PMID:Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors: a new prospective in the treatment of lung cancer. 1503 19

Molecular inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER1) signaling is under active investigation as a promising cancer treatment strategy. We examined the potency of EGFR inhibition achieved by combining anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody and tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which target extracellular and intracellular domains of the receptor, respectively. We specifically studied the combination of cetuximab (Erbitux, C225; ImClone Systems, New York, NY) with either gefitinib (Iressa, ZD1839; AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, UK) or erlotinib (Tarceva, OSI-774; Genentech, South San Francisco, CA) across a variety of human cancer cells. The combination of cetuximab plus gefitinib or erlotinib enhanced growth inhibition over that observed with either agent alone. As measured by immunostaining, inhibition of EGFR phosphorylation with the combination of cetuximab plus gefitinib or erlotinib was augmented over that obtained with single-agent therapy in head and neck (H&N) cancer cell lines. Phosphorylation inhibition of downstream effector molecules [mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and AKT] also was enhanced in tumor cells treated with the combination of cetuximab plus gefitinib or erlotinib. Flow cytometry and immunoblot analysis demonstrated that treatment of H&N tumor cells with cetuximab in combination with either gefitinib or erlotinib amplified the induction of apoptosis. Following establishment of cetuximab-resistant cell lines, we observed that gefitinib or erlotinib retained the capacity to inhibit growth of lung and H&N tumor cells that were highly resistant to cetuximab. Treatment with gefitinib or erlotinib, but not cetuximab, also could further inhibit the activation of downstream effectors of EGFR signaling in cetuximab-resistant cells, including MAPK and AKT. These data suggest that tyrosine kinase inhibitors may further modulate intracellular signaling that is not fully blocked by extracellular anti-EGFR antibody treatment. Finally, animal studies confirmed that single EGFR inhibitor treatment resulted in partial and transient tumor regression in human lung cancer xenografts. In contrast, more profound tumor regression and regrowth delay were observed in mice treated with the combination of cetuximab and gefitinib or erlotinib. Immunohistochemical staining, which demonstrated significant reduction of the proliferative marker proliferating cell nuclear antigen in mice treated with dual EGFR inhibitors, further supported this in vivo observation. Together, these data suggest that combined treatment with distinct EGFR inhibitory agents can augment the potency of EGFR signaling inhibition. This approach suggests potential new strategies to maximize effective target inhibition, which may improve the therapeutic ratio for anti-EGFR-targeted therapies in developing clinical trials.
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PMID:Dual-agent molecular targeting of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR): combining anti-EGFR antibody with tyrosine kinase inhibitor. 1528 42

Worldwide, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality and, until screening detects early disease, treatment for the majority of patients will consist of radiation therapy, chemotherapy or combinations thereof. Modern mono and doublet chemotherapy regimens have translated into modest increases in life expectancy and improved quality of life, but at the expense of systemic and pulmonary adverse events (AEs). There is a great unmet need to provide effective therapy for advanced NSCLC that does not have the toxicity burden of conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Novel drugs that inhibit a range of growth factor receptors, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib ('Iressa') and erlotinib ('Tarceva') or the monoclonal antibody cetuximab ('Erbitux'), have recently been evaluated. Having demonstrated antitumour activity and rapid symptom improvement in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC, gefitinib was approved in the USA, Japan and other countries. Gefitinib is well tolerated with a low incidence of grade 3/4 AEs. Interstitial lung disease has been reported in a small number of patients receiving gefitinib, although this may be attributed to other treatments and conditions. Nevertheless, although the use of novel treatments requires vigilance for unexpected AEs such as pulmonary toxicity, in this area of high unmet clinical need, the benefits outweigh the risks in patients for whom no other proven effective treatment exists.
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PMID:Treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer: a perspective on the recent advances and the experience with gefitinib. 1534 Mar 73

Molecular targeting strategies for cancer therapy are distinct from conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy in their potential to provide increased tumor specificity. One particular molecular target of high promise in oncology is the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The EGFR is overexpressed, dysregulated or mutated in many epithelial malignancies, and EGFR activation appears important in tumor growth and progression. Advances in signal transduction biology continue to sharpen our understanding regarding specific contributions of EGFR signaling networks to cancer behavior. Two predominant classes of EGFR inhibitors have been developed including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target the extracellular domain of EGFR, such as cetuximab (Erbitux), and small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that target the receptor catalytic domain of EGFR, such as gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva). Mechanisms of action for EGFR inhibitors have been investigated in preclinical model systems. Safety, activity, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics have been assessed in clinical trials. The anti-EGFR mAbs and TKIs have partially overlapping toxicity profiles, but distinct routes of administration, serum half-lives and therefore dosing schedules. Both classes of agents show clear antitumor activity, and cetuximab and gefitinib have been recently FDA approved for colorectal and lung cancer indications respectively. However, the absence of survival benefit for EGFR TKIs in combination with chemotherapy in large-scale phase III lung cancer trials in 2003 underscores a major challenge in anti-EGFR oncology therapeutics; namely to identify those tumors and patients that will respond predictably to EGFR inhibitor approaches. Newly identified mutations in the EGFR catalytic domain that appear to confer sensitivity to EGFR TKIs promise to open new doors of investigation regarding response prediction. Advances will also require enhanced molecular understanding of the overall EGFR signaling network, and improved methods to gauge the dependence of individual tumors on EGFR signaling pathways for growth advantage. Results from newly reported phase III trials in 2004 now confirm a survival advantage for the use of EGFR inhibitors in combination with high-dose radiation in head and neck cancer, and in refractory lung cancer respectively. It appears likely that EGFR inhibitors (and other rationally designed molecular growth inhibitors) will play a meaningful role in cancer therapy in the years to come.
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PMID:Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition strategies in oncology. 1561 46

Although chemotherapy remains the standard of care for lung cancer, new less toxic drugs are urgently needed. Targeted agents represent a new era in cancer therapy, and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is at the forefront of many development programs. An exciting target is the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, ie, HER1), and agents targeting this receptor, including gefitinib, cetuximab, and erlotinib (OSI-774; Tarceva), are being investigated. These agents have antitumor activity and are less toxic than most therapies. Based on phase II data, gefitinib received US approval for third-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Cetuximab is licensed in the United States for patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma. However, erlotinib, recently approved in the United States for second- and third-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC, is the only agent of this class to improve survival as monotherapy in patients with advanced, refractory NSCLC, as shown in a phase III placebo-controlled trial. Phase III trials of erlotinib and gefitinib combined with chemotherapy were disappointing, which could be the result of drug scheduling, chemotherapy combinations, or other factors. Patient characteristics may also affect outcome, and research is ongoing to identify predictive markers of response to enable patient selection and improve outcome. Recently identified mutations within the HER1/EGFR tyrosine kinase (TK) domain may provide insight into why some patients respond rapidly to HER1/EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Surrogate markers of efficacy are also being investigated, including rash, which could be used to monitor and optimize antitumor activity. Therefore, although more work is required, data indicate that HER1/EGFR inhibitors will play an important role in treating patients with NSCLC.
Clin Lung Cancer 2004 Dec
PMID:Overview of the current status of human epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors in lung cancer. 1563 59


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