Gefitinib in the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer with activating epidermal growth factor receptor mutation

Lung cancer is still the main cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with most patients present with advanced disease and poor long-term prognosis. The aim of lung cancer treatment is to slow down the progression of the disease, to relieve the patients from the lung cancer symptoms and whenever possible, to increase the overall survival. The discovery of small molecule targeting tyrosine kinase of epidermal growth factor receptor opens a new way in the management of advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This review will discuss several Phase II and III trials evaluated the clinical efficacy of gefitinib as monotherapy in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC, as well as both monotherapy and combined with chemotherapy in chemotherapy-naive patients.