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Tarceva is a drug that targets a molecule with a key role in the growth and extended life span of cancer cells. Researchers at more than 70 centres across the UK will test the drug.
Tumour cells quickly become resistant to treatment
Chief Investigator at UCL Hospital, Dr Siow Ming Lee said, "Conventional chemotherapy is of limited use against advanced lung cancer. Tumour cells quickly become resistant to treatment, while chemotherapy doesn’t properly distinguish between cancerous cells and healthy ones and has too many side effects for many very ill patients to cope with."
Tarceva targets a molecule called Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), which normally instructs cancer cells to grow and divide, and is particularly concentrated in some lung cancers. Over 660 patients are required for the trials