Squamous cell lung cancer (SqCLC) is a unique clinical and histologic category of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Most of patients with SqCLC tend to be older, typically at advanced stage, associated with smoking and have more complications. With progress of targeted therapy of lung cancer, we identified several potential actionable genetic abnormalities such as FGFR. Several FGFR inhibitors have been approved for clinical use in different cancers. And some of these agents are currently under investigation in clinical trials for SqCLC. This article summarizes the current knowledge about FGFR aberrations, the relative inhibitors in development and clinical data in SqCLC.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; methods ; Mutation ; Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor ; genetics ; metabolism

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Genes, ras ; genetics ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; methods ; Mutation ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; ras Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the malignant tumors with highest mortality in the world, it is still a difficult problem in clinical field. Its occurrence and development are closely associated with tumor angiogenesis. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is an important angiogenesis factor that has involved in many researches and it has been confirmed that the expression of Ang-2 is significantly up-regulated in tissues and blood of NSCLC. Meanwhile, Ang-2 is related to malignant biological behavior of cancer cells, making it a potential biological marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of NSCLC. At present, researches on Ang-2 how to promote the progression of NSCLC around the world are focused on Ang-2 regulating the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of NSCLC. This paper summarized and estimated the studies and literature reports of regulatory mechanisms of Ang-2 in NSCLC, hopefully it could help looking for targeted drug treatment of Ang-2 in the future.
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Angiopoietin-2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; drug effects ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

The morbidity and mortality of lung cancer is the first in the world, immunotherapy has become a important treatment strategy in addition to chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted therapy. In recent years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has successively approved immunological checkpoint inhibitors as standard programs for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in second-line or first-line treatment. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) also recommends immunological checkpoint inhibitors as the standard treatment for small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Now, the treatment for lung cancer has entered the era of precision treatment, it is very important to select effective and reliable biomarker for the dominant populations of lung cancer to receive immunotherapy. A large number of researchs indicated that tumor mutation burden (TMB) may be an independent predicted biomarker for immunotherapy, but with limitations. This article reviewed the predictive value of TMB and its limitations in the field of immunotherapy for lung cancer.
Animals ; Biomarkers ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunologic Factors ; administration & dosage ; Immunotherapy ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mutation ; Tumor Burden

Targeted therapy of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKIs) has been the standard modality as first-line treatment of advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The third-generation EGFR-TKIs has been approved to overcome the EGFR T790M mutation in patients resistant to the first-or second-generation TKIs, which brings more survival benefits for patients with advanced NSCLC. Unfortunately, acquired resistance inevitably develops after application of approximately 10 months. Heterogeneities of the tumor determines the diversity of resistance. Mechanisms of resistance to the third-generation TKIs includs EGFR-dependent pathway (such as new EGFR mutations, T790M reduction/disappearance and EGFR amplification, etc.) and EGFR-independent pathway (such as bypass pathway activation and histological transformation, etc.). In this paper, we reviewed principle mechanisms of acquired resistance to third-generation EGFR-TKIs.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; ErbB Receptors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

BACKGROUNDNon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. Despite the advances in therapy over the years, its mortality remains high. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteases 1 (SENP1) in NSCLC tissues and its role in the regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. We also investigated the association between the expression level of SENP1 and the clinicopathological features and survival of the patients.

METHODSA SENP1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) was constructed and transfected into the NSCLC cells. VEGF gene expression was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry staining was used to assess the expression of SENP1 in 100 NSCLC patients and its association with the clinicopathological features and survival was analyzed.

RESULTSVEGF expression was significantly higher in NSCLC tissues than in normal lung tissues. Inhibition of SENP1 by siRNA was associated with decreased VEGF expression. SENP1 was over-expressed in 55 of the 100 NSCLC samples (55%) and was associated with a moderate and low histological tumor grade (3.6%, 38.2%, and 58.2% in high, moderate and low differentiated tumors, respectively, P = 0.046), higher T stage (10.9% in T1, and 89.1% in T2 and T3 tumor samples, P < 0.001) and TNM stage (10.9% in stage I, and 89.1% in stages II and III tumor samples, P < 0.001). The rate of lymph node metastasis was significantly higher in the SENP1 over-expression group (76.4%) than that in the SENP1 low expression group (33.3%, P < 0.001). Sixty three patients received postoperative chemotherapy, including 34 with SENP1 over-expression and 29 with SENP1 low expression. Among the 34 patients with SENP1 over-expression, 22 (64.7%) patients developed recurrence or metastasis, significantly higher than those in the low expression group 27.6% (8/29) (P = 0.005). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that lymph node metastasis (P = 0.015), TNM stage (P = 0.001), and SENP1 expression level (P = 0.002) were independent prognostic factors for the survival of NSCLC patients.

CONCLUSIONSSENP1 may be a promising predictor of survival, a predictive factor of chemo-sensitivity for NSCLC patients, and potentially a desirable drug target for lung carcinoma target therapy.

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cysteine Endopeptidases ; Endopeptidases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Vitro Techniques ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Over the past decade, the management model of cancer patients has gradually shifted to individual mode based on molecular mutation detection. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation is an important driving factor in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared with traditional chemotherapy, EGFR-targeted therapy shows significant safety and efficacy. However, not all patients with EGFR mutations are eligible for EGFR-targeted therapy, and different types of mutations often indicate different clinical outcomes, such as the sensitive mutations EGFR 19-Del, L858R, and the resistance mutation. In addition, the third-generation TKI drugs Osimertinib (AZD9291) and Rociletinib (CO-1686) have been developed to further benefit patients with primary TKI resistance caused by T790M mutation of EGFR. Therefore, detection of the EGFR mutation status of patients before treatment, and continuously monitoring the mutation of drug resistance genes during the treatment process is useful for the management of targeted drugs in NSCLC patients. In recent years, the rapid development of "liquid biopsy" technology has made it possible to use non-invasive methods to monitor drug resistance mutations in real time. In this paper, we reviewed the clinical application of various non-invasive detection techniques for EGFR mutations in NSCLC in different liquid samples.
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Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; administration & dosage ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; methods ; ErbB Receptors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mutation

Lung cancer is responsible for 29% of cancer deaths in the United States and has very low 5-year survival rates of approximately 11% in men and 15% in women. Although the early diagnosis of lung cancer may increase the survival rate with adequate treatment, advanced lung cancers are often metastasized and receive limited benefit from therapeutic regimens. As conventional treatments for lung cancer reach their limitations, researchers have attempted to discover novel drug therapies aimed at specific targets contributing to the progression of tumorigenesis. Recent advances in systems biology have enabled the molecular biology of lung carcinogenesis to be elucidated. Our understanding of the physiologic processes of tumor development provide a means to design more effective and specific drugs with less toxicity, thereby accelerating the delivery of new drug therapies to the patient's bedside.
Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Small Cell ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; methods ; Mutation ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; antagonists & inhibitors ; ras Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Redox adaptation is an important concept that explains the mechanisms by which cancer cells survive under persistent endogenous oxidative stress and become resistant to certain anticancer agents. To investigate this concept, we determined the expression levels of peroxiredoxins (Prxs), antioxidant enzymes in drug-resistant non-small cell lung carcinoma cells. Prx II was remarkably increased only in A549/GR (gefitinib-resistant) cells compared with A549 cells, consistent with methylation/demethylation. Prx II was highly methylated in the A549 cells but was demethylated in the A549/GR cells. The elevated expression of Prx II resulted in the downregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death and upregulation of cell cycle progression in the A549/GR cells. When Prx II mRNA in the A549/GR cells was knocked down, the levels of ROS and apoptosis were significantly recovered to the levels of the controls. In addition, signaling molecules involved in apoptosis were increased in the A549/GR-shPrx II cells. There was no difference in the expression of MAPK/ERK between the A549/GR cells and A549/GR-shPrx II cells, but the phosphorylation of JNK was increased in the A549/GR cells and was markedly decreased in the A549/GR-shPrx II cells. Colony number and tumor growth were significantly decreased in the A549/GR-shPrx II cells compared with the A549/GR cells. Our findings suggest that Prx II has an important role in cancer cell survival via the modulation of signaling molecules involved in apoptosis and the phosphorylation of JNK by the downregulation of ROS levels in A549/GR cells.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/*drug therapy/genetics/metabolism/pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Lung/drug effects/metabolism/pathology ; Lung Neoplasms/*drug therapy/genetics/metabolism/pathology ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects ; Peroxiredoxins/*genetics/metabolism ; Quinazolines/*therapeutic use ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism

Redox adaptation is an important concept that explains the mechanisms by which cancer cells survive under persistent endogenous oxidative stress and become resistant to certain anticancer agents. To investigate this concept, we determined the expression levels of peroxiredoxins (Prxs), antioxidant enzymes in drug-resistant non-small cell lung carcinoma cells. Prx II was remarkably increased only in A549/GR (gefitinib-resistant) cells compared with A549 cells, consistent with methylation/demethylation. Prx II was highly methylated in the A549 cells but was demethylated in the A549/GR cells. The elevated expression of Prx II resulted in the downregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death and upregulation of cell cycle progression in the A549/GR cells. When Prx II mRNA in the A549/GR cells was knocked down, the levels of ROS and apoptosis were significantly recovered to the levels of the controls. In addition, signaling molecules involved in apoptosis were increased in the A549/GR-shPrx II cells. There was no difference in the expression of MAPK/ERK between the A549/GR cells and A549/GR-shPrx II cells, but the phosphorylation of JNK was increased in the A549/GR cells and was markedly decreased in the A549/GR-shPrx II cells. Colony number and tumor growth were significantly decreased in the A549/GR-shPrx II cells compared with the A549/GR cells. Our findings suggest that Prx II has an important role in cancer cell survival via the modulation of signaling molecules involved in apoptosis and the phosphorylation of JNK by the downregulation of ROS levels in A549/GR cells.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/*drug therapy/genetics/metabolism/pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Lung/drug effects/metabolism/pathology ; Lung Neoplasms/*drug therapy/genetics/metabolism/pathology ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects ; Peroxiredoxins/*genetics/metabolism ; Quinazolines/*therapeutic use ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism