A 64-year-old man with a 50-pack-year history of smoking has 10-kg (22-lb) weight loss over the
past four months. He has worsening cough with specks of blood. Chest x-ray shows a 3-cm central
cavitating lesion. Biopsy is performed and shows advanced stage bronchogenic squamous cell
carcinoma. Among the various treatment options, the physician considers a drug called erlotinib,
which has demonstrated efficacy in treating non-small cell lung cancer. Which of the following best describes the molecular target of this agent?
- A) Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
- B) Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase
- C) Serine-threonine kinase
- D) Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase
- E) Topoisomerase I
- F) Topoisomerase II
0 voters
The answer is D.
Erlotinib is an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in the treatment of non-small cell lung
cancer.1
Imatinib inhibits bcr-abl tyrosine kinase in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).2
Sorafenib is a novel multikinase inhibitor, which inhibits tyrosine kinases as well as
serine/threonine kinases, in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC).3, 4
Bevacizumab is a VEGF inhibitor used in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.5
Irinotecan and topotecan are topoisomerase I inhibitors used in the treatment of colorectal cancer.6
Etoposide and teniposide are topoisomerase II inhibitors used in the treatment of various cancers.