Novel targets for lung cancer therapy

Lung cancer remains the number one killer from cancer of men and women in the USA, and is also a major cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The 5-year survival rate for lung cancer has barely improved in the past 20 years [1]. Since cytotoxic therapies have reached a plateau in their clinical efficacy, even in combination, new therapies that target specific cancer-related growth pathways are needed to make an impact on the course of this disease, which is still often diagnosed at late stages that do not respond well to current therapies. The recent experience with gefitinib [2] suggests that although attractive targets such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exist that are effectively inhibited in preclinical studies, the successful application of targeted therapies to clinical use may require different approaches, such as use in selected sensitive patients, combination therapy against several targets, sequential treatment after cytotoxic therapy, or use of drugs intermittently at high doses to induce apoptosis rather than continuously at low doses to impair cell division.