CELL INTELLIGENCE · 肿瘤细胞治疗研究

Cancer is a leading cause of death globally, and traditional therapies including chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often constrained by systemic toxicity and lack of specificity. Thus, targeted therapies are the need of the hour to revolutionize cancer treatment by enhancing specificity and selectivity, and minimizing off-target effects. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its deletion mutant EGFRvIII exhibit pivotal roles in tumorigenesis, making them attractive targets across multiple cancers. Various targeted therapies, including small-molecule inhibitors, therapeutic antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and immunotherapies, are developed to target EGFR, EGFRvIII, and other clinically relevant EGFR mutations, namely L858R, C797S, and T790M. U.S. FDA has approved many of these agents as monotherapies or in conjunction with chemotherapy for treating lung, head and neck, and colorectal cancers; however, there are challenges. In this review, we discuss the role of EGFRvIII in driving aggressive tumor growth and highlight how effective targeting of EGFRvIII, and overcoming resistance mutations will be crucial to improve EGFR- and EGFRvIII-based therapies. The ongoing evolution of these interventions holds promise for long-term responses, reduced toxicity, and enhanced patient survival. Literature related to EGFR- and EGFRvIII-based therapies was searched systematically in PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar up to June 2026. Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery are the traditional therapies that have been performed for years, but they can also harm healthy cells and issues. To reduce these side effects, researchers are now developing different cancer therapies that specifically attack cancer cells while causing less damage to healthy parts of the body. One such treatment method is called targeted therapy, i.e. targeting and destroying specifically the cancer cells in the body with minimal harm to healthy cells and tissues. In this review, we discuss about a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its altered form EGFRvIII, which help cancer cells to grow aggressively. Different medicines/molecules have been developed to target these proteins, and FDA has approved several such medicines for the treatment of different cancers including lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and colorectal cancer, either as the drug alone or in combination with chemotherapy. This review explains how these therapeutic molecules work on EGFR and EGFRvIII proteins, and how they help in reducing cancer cell growth. We also discuss the challenges faced during the development and testing of these targeted therapies and highlight possible strategies to improve their effectiveness in the future.