title: Critical appraisal of the role of gefitinib in the management of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: Past studies have demonstrated that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors can significantly improve clinical outcomes in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and sensitive EGFR gene mutations. Gefitinib (Iressa(®)), the first oral EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been shown to be more effective and better tolerated than chemotherapy either in first-line or second-line treatment for patients with advanced NSCLC harboring sensitive EGFR mutations. Conversely, among patients with wild-type EGFR, gefitinib is inferior to standard chemotherapy in both the first-line and second-line settings. Further, gefitinib is effective in patients with brain metastases because of its low molecular weight and excellent penetration of the blood-brain barrier. In this review, we summarize the current data from clinical trials with gefitinib and appraise its role in the management of locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Fen
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jia-Qi
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cai-Xia
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jian-Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: epidermal growth factor receptor; gefitinib; non-small cell lung cancer; tyrosine kinase inhibitor