Toward the next generation EGFR inhibitors: an overview of osimertinib resistance mediated by EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) is currently the standard first-line therapy for EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The life quality and survival of this subgroup of patients were constantly improving owing to the continuous iteration and optimization of EGFR-TKI. Osimertinib, an oral, third-generation, irreversible EGFR-TKI, was initially approved for the treatment of NSCLC patients carrying EGFR T790M mutations, and has currently become the dominant first-line targeted therapy for most EGFR mutant lung cancer. Unfortunately, resistance to osimertinib inevitably develops during the treatment and therefore limits its long-term effectiveness. For both fundamental and clinical researchers, it stands for a major challenge to reveal the mechanism, and a dire need to develop novel therapeutics to overcome the resistance. In this article, we focus on the acquired resistance to osimertinib caused by EGFR mutations which account for approximately 1/3 of all reported resistance mechanisms. We also review the proposed therapeutic strategies for each type of mutation conferring resistance to osimertinib and give an outlook to the development of the next generation EGFR inhibitors. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12964-023-01082-8.