Anti-EGFR targeted therapies combined with chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer [Association des thérapeutiques ciblées anti-EGFR avec la radio-chimiothérapie chez les patients présentant un cancer bronchique non à petites cellules localement avancé]

摘要

The current standard of care for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the concomitant administration of radiotherapy and platinum-based chemotherapy. Treatment combinations with molecular targeted agents represent a promising line of research and a chance of improving patient management. There is indeed a well-grounded preclinical rationale suggesting the existence of a synergistic action of targeted drugs and ionizing radiation, and there is extensive experimental evidence of a radiosensitizing effect of targeted therapies that inhibit EGFR activation (anti-EGFR). The preliminary clinical data currently available only demonstrate the feasibility of combining anti-EGFR treatments and radiotherapy. Nevertheless, the promising results of phase II studies testing cetuximab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting EGFR, and concomitant radiotherapy have led to the development of phase III studies with this agent in this setting. In this article, we briefly review the experimental data and the pre-clinical rationale for treatment strategies combining radiation and targeted chemotherapies, and then we summarize the major ongoing clinical trials.