Clinical Evaluation of Agents Targeting Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) in Cancer

摘要: Proteins encoded by oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes are the essential signaling components of complex cellular networks (1–3). Cancer arises from a multistep process promoted imbalanced growth signals as consequence gain oncogene and/or loss tumor suppressor (4). The six cancer hallmarks include persistent cell signals, insensitivity to antigrowth evasion apoptosis, angiogenesis, immortality, invasion metastasis (5). As an oncogene, epidermal factor receptor (EGFR) function is achieved through EGFR overexpression has been shown be associated with almost all except immortality (6,7). In various experimental models, inhibition leads regression growth, induction (7,8). Furthermore, EGFR, frequently observed in number human cancers, poor overall prognosis, increased recurrence, decreased patient survival (8). hypothesis that might therapeutic target was proposed Mendelsohn (6,7) early 1980s; emerging only recently promising clinical trial results antagonists different cancers. This chapter will discuss developments future directions treatment.