Novel Multitarget Therapies for Lung Cancer and Respiratory Disease

Our plain-English summary of Novel Multitarget Therapies for Lung Cancer and Respiratory Disease, by M. Yumura, T. Nagano, Y. Nishimura (Molecules, 2020).

The study

• Authors: M. Yumura, T. Nagano, Y. Nishimura
• Journal: Molecules
• Published: 2020;25(17)
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 14 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

In recent years, multitarget drugs for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease have been developed and well researched. Many studies have revealed that multitarget drugs are also useful for lung cancer and respiratory diseases. Pemetrexed is a multitargeted antifolate with strong antitumor activity against mesothelioma and lung adenocarcinoma. Crizotinib is an ATP-competitive tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets c-MET, ROS1, and ALK. Alectinib is known as an ALK inhibitor but also targets LTK, CHEK2, FLT3, PHKG2, and RET. Sorafenib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets RAF kinase, KIT, VEGFR, PDGFR1β, FLT3, and RET. Nintedanib is a multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets FGFR, PDGFR, and VEGFR. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms of action of multitarget therapies and report the results of the latest clinical trials.

In plain English

This article was a review of drugs that act on several biological targets at once, used for lung cancer and other lung diseases. It studied no new patients and did not study asbestos exposure. Instead it summarized how pemetrexed, crizotinib, alectinib, sorafenib and nintedanib work, and the results of earlier published clinical trials. For malignant pleural mesothelioma, which the authors noted is associated with asbestos inhalation, the review reported results from earlier trials. A phase II trial of pemetrexed alone found a response rate of 14.1% and a median survival time of 10.7 months. A phase III trial found median survival of 12.1 months with pemetrexed plus cisplatin versus 9.3 months with cisplatin alone. In that trial, folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements reduced toxicity. The review described pemetrexed plus cisplatin as now the standard treatment for malignant mesothelioma, and pemetrexed plus carboplatin as a treatment option. Other sections covered trials in non-small cell lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The authors concluded that further advances in multitarget drugs will bring additional benefits to patients.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of the mechanisms and published clinical trial results of multitarget drugs for lung cancer and respiratory disease
• Who was studied: No new patients were studied; the review summarized previously published clinical trials, including trials in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, non-small cell lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease associated with systemic scleroderma
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure was studied. The review covered drug treatments (pemetrexed, crizotinib, alectinib, sorafenib, nintedanib). Asbestos was mentioned only as being associated with malignant mesothelioma.
• Main results:
  • In an earlier phase II trial cited by the review, pemetrexed alone in malignant pleural mesothelioma gave a response rate of 14.1% and a median survival time of 10.7 months
  • In an earlier phase III trial cited by the review in malignant pleural mesothelioma, median survival was 12.1 months with pemetrexed plus cisplatin vs. 9.3 months with cisplatin alone (p = 0.020)
  • In the same phase III trial, the response rate was 41.3% with pemetrexed plus cisplatin vs. 16.7% with cisplatin alone (p less than 0.0001)
  • In that trial, folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation reduced toxicity
  • The review described pemetrexed plus cisplatin as the standard treatment for malignant mesothelioma
  • In earlier phase II trials of pemetrexed plus carboplatin in malignant pleural mesothelioma, the response rate ranged from 18.6% to 25% and median survival was 12.7 to 14.1 months
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that studies of multitarget drugs for respiratory diseases have just begun and that further advances will bring additional benefits to patients

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, Pemetrexed (Alimta), Antifolate, Mesothelioma, Lung Adenocarcinoma, Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, ROS1, Sorafenib (Nexavar).

Related studies

• Novel targeted therapies and vaccination strategies for mesothelioma — M. Bagia, A.K. Nowak (2011)
• Targeted therapies in malignant pleural mesothelioma: a review of clinical studies — L. Greillier, S. Marco, et al. (2011)
• Novel therapies for malignant pleural mesothelioma — A. Scherpereel, F. Wallyn, et al. (2018)
• Combining Chemotherapeutic Agents, Targeted Therapies, Vaccines and Natural Bioactive Compounds for Mesothelioma: Advances and Perspectives — R. Carrano, C. Zucca, et al. (2025)
• Gli as a novel therapeutic target in malignant pleural mesothelioma — H. Li, N. Lui, et al. (2013)
• Latest developments in our understanding of the pathogenesis of mesothelioma and the design of targeted therapies — A. Bononi, A. Napolitano, et al. (2015)

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