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  • Hot Drugs 2004
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Cancer

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 3, pages S6–S10 (2004)Cite this article

Brand name: Iressa Company: AstraZeneca Approved: 5 May 2003 Condition treated: advanced non-small-cell lung cancer Action: EGFR kinase inhibitor CAS number: 184475-35-2

Although cytotoxic chemotherapy has had a major impact on the treatment of some cancers, its efficacy against most solid tumours is limited, and it is associated with significant side effects. This is particularly the case with lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide1. The most common form — non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for ∼75% of cases — is too advanced to be operable in >50% of patients, and standard first-line chemotherapy based on platinum agents only modestly improves survival2. Second-line treatment options in patients with advanced NSCLC are even more limited, with docetaxel being the only FDA-approved choice. In highly advanced NSCLC, chemotherapy is primarily palliative, and improvement in disease-related symptoms can be compromised by drug toxicity.

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Figure 1: Gefitinib.
Figure 2: Market for drugs to treat non-small-cell lung cancer in US $ million.
Figure 3: Bortezomib.
Figure 4: Market for drugs to treat multiple myeloma in US $ million.

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Additional information

Authorship This section was authored by Mohamed Muhsin, Joanne Graham, Andrew Paramore, Simon Frantz and Peter Kirkpatrick, and includes material first published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. Mohamed Muhsin, Joanne Graham and Andrew Paramore are at Decision Resources Intl, 50–51 Russell Square, London, WC1B 4HQ, UK. Simon Frantz and Peter Kirkpatrick are at Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.

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Cancer. Nat Rev Drug Discov 3 (Suppl 7), S6–S10 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1406

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