Novel approaches in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer

A wealth of data indicates that certain genetic abnormalities can target sp ecific cytotoxic drugs and intervene at an early step as a mechanism of I r esistance in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer. Therefore prescri bing certain combinations of cytotoxic anticancer agents to a vast majority of these patients is futile. Genetic abnormalities have been found to be u seful surrogate markers for response, particularly in colorectal cancer: th ymidylate synthase mRNA and ERCC1 mRNA levels. In addition, beta -tubulin m utations may also confer paclitaxel resistance inpatients. An important tar get to be explored for gemcitabine resistance is the assessment of a partic ular region in chromosome 11p15.5 wherein lies the I ribonucleotide reducta se gene that could affect gemcitabine metabolism. Shedding light on this ge netic framework, several proposed customized chemotherapy studies could hel p validate the relevance of these markers.