Epidermal growth factor receptor – its importance, diagnosis and development of treatment in non‑small cell lung cancer

01/2021

MUDr. Lenka Jakubíková, Ph.D.

Klinika nemocí plicních a tuberkulózy LF UK a FN Brno

SUMMARY

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane glycoprotein with a binding site for a family of extracellular protein epidermal growth factor ligands. The epidermal growth factor receptor is a member of the ErbB (erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene) receptor family, which consists of a total of four members of closely related receptor tyrosine kinases: EGFR (ErbBI or HER1), ErbB2/neu (HER2), ErbB3 (HER3) and ErbB4 (HER4). Epidermal growth factor and its receptor were discovered by Stanley Cohen. In 1986, Cohen shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine with Rita Levi-Montalcini for his discovery of growth factors. The signal from EGFR can be transmitted by a number of intracellular transporters RAS-RAF-MAPK (leading to cell proliferation), or the singular pathways JAK-STAT3 or PI3K-AKT (affecting cell survival) are activated. Examination of the mutational status of this receptor plays a crucial role in deciding on the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and is the goal of so-called biological treatment.

Key words

EGFR, NSCLC, osimertinib, afatinib