A drug that blocks an enzyme involved in cancer cell growth shows promising results in a hard-to-treat lung cancer.

It's generally accepted that bronchioalveolar cell carcinoma (BAC), which accounts for three per cent of all lung cancers, is resistant to chemotherapy. Another 20 per cent of lung cancers show some features of BAC. The disease spreads within the lung and produces breathlessness and sputum production. It's more common among women and those who have never smoked.

Researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have been testing a new drug called erlotinib on a group of 33 patients with BAC. The drug works by blocking an enzyme called epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase, known to be involved in the growth of cancer cells.

In this study, eight out of 30 patients completing a month of therapy showed regression of their tumors. Five of them had never smoked, two had smoked a pack a day for less than ten years and one was a former heavy smoker. The study suggests that non-smokers with BAC may benefit from treatment with erlotinib.

Source

American Society for Clinical Oncology Meeting 1st June 2003