Dr. Halmos on the Impact of EGFR Inhibitors on the Treatment of Lung Cancer

Balazs Halmos, MD, section chief of Thoracic Oncology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, discusses the impact of EGFR inhibitors on the treatment of lung cancer.

It is now widely recognized that a proportion of patients with lung cancer (about 10% in the U.S.) carry an EGFR mutation. This discovery has transformed the way the disease is treated.

EGFR inhibitors extend survival and are less toxic than chemotherapies, Halmos says​. Previously, life expectancy was 12 months in this population; now, it is about 3 years. EGFR inhibitors have changed the entire mindset of how to treat lung cancer.