Epidermal growth factor inhibition in solid tumours

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in the carcinogenesis of many human malignancies and is therefore an attractive target against which anticancer therapy may be effective. At present, there are two ways in which this may be achieved clinically: antibodies against EGFR and inhibitors of the EGFR tyrosine kinase. This review describes presently approved agents cetuximab (monoclonal EGFR antibody), gefitinib and erlotinib (EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors) in detail. Efficacy data for these agents in various human malignancies is presented. Various other agents that are in the early stages of development at present have also been mentioned.