TKI targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer has good results in the advantageous population

TKI targeted therapy (Iressa, Tarceva) is a new treatment method that has emerged in the field of oncology in this century. It has achieved remarkable results in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer, especially in the superior population. The effect of using this method to treat non-small cell lung cancer is better than chemotherapy. TKI targeted therapy can not only greatly improve the treatment effect of some patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, but also improve the quality of life of patients and prolong their survival time. It can be said that it has opened a new window of life for cancer patients who are on the verge of death.

Targeted therapy, as the name implies, is aimed at a target for treatment. It is effective if there is a target, but ineffective if there is no target. Therefore, not all patients with non-small cell lung cancer are suitable for TKI targeted therapy. Iressa and Tarceva are mainly used for patients with positive EGFR mutations in tumor tissue. Clinical trials have confirmed that in non-selected populations around the world, the effects of Iressa and Tarceva in treating non-small cell lung cancer are not as good as chemotherapy; but in the advantaged population, the treatment effects of Iressa and Tarceva are slightly better than chemotherapy.

The so-called advantaged population refers to Asians, women, non-smokers, and patients with adenocarcinoma. However, further research has found that the positive rate of EGFR mutation in the advantaged population is higher than that in the non-advantageous population. Only patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who are positive for EGFR mutation can truly benefit from Iressa and Tarceva treatment by using pathological tissue examination. Therefore, male, smokers, or patients with squamous cell carcinoma can also use Iressa and Tarceva for treatment as long as they have EGFR gene mutations.