From UC Irvine: Better EGFR TKIs for treating lung cancer?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22257651

Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2012 Jan 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Second-generation irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs): A better mousetrap? A review of the clinical evidence.
Ou SH.
Source
Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Irvine Medical Center, Building 56, Room 241, RT81, Orange, CA 92868, United States.

Abstract
The discovery of activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in 2004 heralded the era of molecular targeted therapy in NSCLC. First-generation small molecule, reversible tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of EGFR, gefitinib and erlotinib, had been approved for second- or third-line treatment of NSCLC prior to the knowledge of these mutations. However, resistance to gefitinib and erlotinib invariably develops after prolonged clinical use. Two second-generation irreversible EGFR TKIs, afatinib (BIBW 2992) and dacomitinib (PF-00299804), that can potentially overcome the majority of these resistances are in late stage clinical development. Here I will review the clinical data of EGFR TKIs and discuss the appropriate future role of afatinib and dacomitinib in NSCLC: whether as replacement of erlotinib or gefitinib or only after erlotinib or gefitinib failure and whether different subgroups would benefit from different approaches.