Challenges and opportunities for Erlotinib (Tarceva): what does the future hold?

The development of targeted agents has brought new opportunities and extraordinary therapeutic challenges to cancer therapy. Several agents that inhibit epidermal growth factor receptor (HER1/EGFR) tyrosine kinase have been developed and are advanced in their clinical development. Preclinical and clinical data show that these agents are selective for their target, have activity across many types of solid tumors, and are well tolerated compared with conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. Attention is currently focused on optimizing the clinical use of these agents. This includes defining dosing schedules and appropriate combination partners, identifying predictive markers of response, developing techniques to accurately assess antitumor activity, and determining whether it is possible to preselect patients before therapy. Resolving these challenges will help us to realize the full potential of these agents.