Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - Chemotherapy Treatments

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.

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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.

Review Date: 07/01/2010
Reviewed By: 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.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).