title: Novel therapeutic targets on the horizon for lung cancer.
abstract: Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and is classically divided into two major histological subtypes: non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Although NSCLC and SCLC are considered distinct entities with different genomic landscapes, emerging evidence highlights a convergence in therapeutically relevant targets for both histologies. In adenocarcinomas with defined alterations such as EGFR mutations and ALK translocations, targeted therapies are now first-line standard of care. By contrast, many experimental and targeted agents remain largely unsuccessful for SCLC. Intense preclinical research and clinical trials are underway to exploit unique traits of lung cancer, such as oncogene dependency, DNA damage response, angiogenesis, and cellular plasticity arising from presence of cancer stem cell lineages. In addition, the promising clinical activity observed in NSCLC in response to immune checkpoint blockade has spurred great interest in the field of immunooncology, with the scope to develop a diverse repertoire of synergistic and personalised immunotherapeutics. In this Review, we discuss novel therapeutic agents for lung cancer that are in early-stage development, and how prospective clinical trials and drug development may be shaped by a deeper understanding of this heterogeneous disease.
authors: Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore; Cancer Therapeutics Research Laboratory, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore.
authors: Wan-Ling
authors: WL
authors: Tan
authors: Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore.
authors: Amit
authors: A
authors: Jain
authors: Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Takano
authors: Singapore Immunology Network, A*STAR, Singapore.
authors: Evan W
authors: EW
authors: Newell
authors: Cancer Therapeutics Research Laboratory, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore.
authors: N Gopalakrishna
authors: NG
authors: Iyer
authors: Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR, Singapore; Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore.
authors: Wan-Teck
authors: WT
authors: Lim
authors: Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore.
authors: Eng-Huat
authors: EH
authors: Tan
authors: Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore.
authors: Weiwei
authors: W
authors: Zhai
authors: Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore.
authors: Axel M
authors: AM
authors: Hillmer
authors: Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore; Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors: Wai-Leong
authors: WL
authors: Tam
authors: Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore; Cancer Therapeutics Research Laboratory, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore; Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore. Electronic address: daniel.tan.s.w@nccs.com.sg.
authors: Daniel S W
authors: DSW
authors: Tan
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D009363:Neoplasm Proteins