What Is Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer?
Targeted therapy for lung cancer uses drugs designed to block the specific genetic mutation or protein driving a particular tumor's growth, such as EGFR, ALK, KRAS, ROS1, or MET.
Unlike chemotherapy, which broadly attacks rapidly dividing cells, targeted therapy is designed around a specific molecular abnormality identified through genomic testing of the tumor. If a tumor doesn't carry the relevant mutation, the corresponding targeted therapy generally won't be effective โ which is why biomarker testing at diagnosis has become central to modern NSCLC treatment planning.
The proportion of NSCLC patients found to have an 'actionable' driver mutation โ meaning one with an approved or investigational targeted therapy available โ has climbed substantially as genomic testing panels have expanded to cover more genes at once.
Targeted therapy research is one of the largest categories tracked on our live Research Progress Tracker, alongside immunotherapy, reflecting how central genomic-driven treatment has become to the overall lung cancer research landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is targeted therapy different from immunotherapy?
Targeted therapy blocks a specific mutated protein driving tumor growth directly; immunotherapy works by re-enabling the immune system to attack the tumor.
Does everyone with lung cancer have a targetable mutation?
No โ only a subset of patients have a currently 'actionable' mutation, though genomic testing panels have expanded considerably over the past decade.