Efficacy of Osimertinib in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients with EGFR Gene Mutation–Case Report and A Literature Review

Synthesis and photodynamic activity of new 5-[(E)-2-(3-alkoxy-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)ethenyl]-2-phenyl-3H-indoles

A series of new indole-pyrazole hybrids 8a-m were synthesized through the palladium-catalyzed ligandless Heck coupling reaction from easily accessible unsubstituted, methoxy- or fluoro-substituted 4-ethenyl-1H-pyrazoles and 5-bromo-3H-indoles. These compounds exerted cytotoxicity to melanoma G361 cells when irradiated with blue light (414 nm) and no cytotoxicity in the dark at concentrations up to 10 µM, prompting us to explore their photodynamic effects. The photodynamic properties of the example compound 8d were further investigated in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Evaluation revealed comparable anticancer activities of 8d in both breast and melanoma cancer cell lines within the submicromolar range. The treatment induced a massive generation of reactive oxygen species, leading to different types of cell death depending on the compound concentration and the irradiation intensity.

[Advances of Molecular Targeted Therapy in EGFR-mutated Squamous Cell Lung Cancer]

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a prevalent tumour type in our country, with lung squamous carcinoma being a commonly observed NSCLC subtype besides lung adenocarcinoma. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a significant driver gene in lung cancer, and EGFR mutation frequency is considerably lower in lung squamous carcinoma in comparison to lung adenocarcinoma. Although targeted therapy against EGFR has demonstrated significant advancements in lung adenocarcinoma, while progress in lung squamous carcinoma has been relatively sluggish. This paper reviews recent studies on molecular targeted therapy for EGFR-mutated lung squamous carcinoma and summarises the efficacy of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in treating squamous carcinoma of the lung, in order to provide a reference for treating patients with EGFR-mutated squamous carcinoma of the lung.
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Repurposing EGFR Inhibitors for Oral Cancer Pain and Opioid Tolerance

Oral cancer pain remains a significant public health concern. Despite the development of improved treatments, pain continues to be a debilitating clinical feature of the disease, leading to reduced oral mobility and diminished quality of life. Opioids are the gold standard treatment for moderate-to-severe oral cancer pain; however, chronic opioid administration leads to hyperalgesia, tolerance, and dependence. The aim of this review is to present accumulating evidence that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling, often dysregulated in cancer, is also an emerging signaling pathway critically involved in pain and opioid tolerance. We presented preclinical and clinical data to demonstrate how repurposing EGFR inhibitors typically used for cancer treatment could be an effective pharmacological strategy to treat oral cancer pain and to prevent or delay the development of opioid tolerance. We also propose that EGFR interaction with the µ-opioid receptor and glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor could be two novel downstream mechanisms contributing to pain and morphine tolerance. Most data presented here support that repurposing EGFR inhibitors as non-opioid analgesics in oral cancer pain is promising and warrants further research.

Efficacy of osimertinib for lung squamous cell carcinoma with de novo EGFR T790M-positive: Case report and literature review

Among epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancers, squamous cell carcinoma is less common and shows lower responsiveness to first-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) compared to adenocarcinoma. However, the efficacy of osimertinib for squamous cell carcinoma with EGFR mutations is not well known. This study reports the case of a 57-year-old male diagnosed as having stage IIIC squamous cell lung cancer. Oncomine Dx Target Test identified EGFR exon19 deletion and de novo EGFR T790M mutation with variant allele frequencies (VAF) of 21.6% and 25.2%, respectively. The patient was treated with osimertinib after progression on chemoradiotherapy followed by durvalumab, and a partial response was maintained for more than 20 months. To predict EGFR-TKI efficacy, confirmation of gene mutations and VAF using next-generation sequencing is helpful.