EGFR or epidermal growth factor receptor is a protein that exists on the surfaces of both healthy as well as cancer cells. The condition where EGFR mutation is overexpressed on the surface of the lung cancer cells is termed as EGFR-positive lung cancer. It is responsible for the rapid growth of these cancer cells and causes the disease to spread.
EGFR mutation can be identified with the help of a simple gene testing. There has been a lot of advancement in the field of lung cancer treatment that can slow down the growth of the cancer cells and reduce disease progression. However, it must be mentioned here that the treatments are no surefire cures to the condition but simply ways to manage the symptoms and prevent the disease from spreading further.
What are the risk factors of EGFR positive lung cancer?
Research has revealed that patients of Asian origin who are diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer account for up to 47% EGFR positive cases. There are several other racial factors involved as well, such as Europeans have a lesser chance of developing this condition, but the chances among Middle-Eastern or African people are normally higher. Women, non-smokers and patients diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma are also seen to have EGFR positive lung cancer.
Symptoms of EGFR positive lung cancer
- Chronic cough
- Coughing up blood
- Shortness of breath
- Hoarseness
- Chest pain
All patients who are diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and lung adenocarcinoma must undergo the gene testing to confirm whether it is an EGFR positive condition. Typically, the doctor will conduct a lung biopsy and do a DNA test of the tissue sample of tumor cells. 70% of patients with lung adenocarcinoma are seen to have EGFR mutations.
Treatment of EGFR positive Lung Cancer
Since it is diagnosed mainly at Stage III and IV, the treatment focuses on how to deal with the symptoms and prevent it from spreading, rather than curing the disease altogether. Treatment of lung cancer has evolved a great deal over the last few years. What started with chemotherapy now has a series of options like radiation therapy, targeted therapy and so on.
In case of an EGFR positive case, there are certain FDA-approved targeted therapy drugs that can help a lot. The side effects are much lesser than chemotherapy, and the success rate is also remarkably higher.
Mention may be made of Erlotinib and Gefitinib in this respect. These are well-known tyrosine kinase inhibitors that can identify cancer cells with overexpressed EGFR mutations and target them in order to prevent the protein from triggering the tyrosine kinase enzyme which helps the cancer cells to multiply in huge numbers and spread. They are either prescribed alone or with other anti-cancer drugs, according to the extent of the disease and the body’s response to therapy.
For patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, undergoing targeted therapy, the daily doses are Erlotinib 150 mg and Gefitinib 250 mg. Your doctor may decrease it in case of unbearable toxicities. They can be taken with or without food. Both Erlotinib and Gefitinib price is relatively high in the current market. Patients are advised to have all the proper medical insurance papers to cover the cost of treatment.
Final words
Although there are a few side effects of targeted therapy, most of them are not prolonged and can be managed easily. There is no specific time as to for how long the medication can be effective. Generally, it is approximately 9 to 13 months, but there are also patients who have responded exceptionally well to the drug therapy for several years.
The Indian Pharma 