What is EGFR?
EGFR positive lung cancer refers to lung cancers that test positive for an EGFR mutation.
Lung cancers that are positive for EGFR mutations are mostly found in people with lung adenocarcinoma (a form of non-small cell lung cancer) and are more common in women than in men.
Often found in people with little or no smoking history.
The EGFR mutation was the first “actionable” mutation discovered in people with lung cancer and it is one of the most common mutations for which there are treatments available that directly target the lung cancer cells
How is it treated?
Tremendous advances have been made in the treatment of lung cancers with this particular EGFR mutation in recent years.
Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses medicines to target the mutations (changes) in cells that cause cancer.
Targeted treatments for EGFR-positive lung cancer are called EGFR inhibitors, or tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which target the EGFR mutation.
TKIs are a type of targeted therapy that bind to EGFR and turn it “off”. TKIs block (inhibit) EGFR signals that cause cancer cells to grow.
Future of Treatment
There are currently five FDA-approved targeted therapies in the United States available to treat first line EGFR positive lung adenocarcinoma.
Unfortunately, some EGFR-positive lung cancers become resistant to TKIs over time, which means the treatment stops working and the cancer starts growing or spreading again.
Continued research, funding, and clinical trials are crucial to fight against resistance. If a new TKI is not developed within 5 years, my treatments will stop working.
