Personalized medicine in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: promising targets and current clinical trials

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related death globally, with most patients presenting with non-curable disease. Platinum-based doublet chemotherapy has been the cornerstone of treatment for patients with advanced-stage disease and has resulted in a modest increase in overall survival (on the order of an incremental 2 months increased survival per decade) and quality of life. Improved knowledge of the molecular signalling pathways found in NSCLC has led to the development of biomarkers with associated targeted therapeutics, thus changing the treatment paradigm for many NSCLC patients. In this review, we present a summary of many of the currently investigated NSCLC targets, discuss their current clinical trial status, and provide commentary as to the likelihood of their success making a positive impact for NSCLC patients.