A new class of drugs offers hope to lung cancer patients who have a specific mutation in their tumour cells. <\/p>\n
LG LAU was in her mid-thirties when she was first diagnosed with lung cancer. She had caught a normal cold, and her early symptoms included persistent coughing, shortness of breath, loss of weight and a hoarse voice. <\/p>\n
When her cough worsened and wouldnt go away for several weeks, she went to see a doctor, who diagnosed her condition as tuberculosis. <\/p>\n
After taking the prescribed medication for about two weeks, there was no improvement in her condition. <\/p>\n
In fact, her health gradually worsened, and by the end of the third week, she had difficulty eating and started losing weight. <\/p>\n
By the end of the month, she became too weak to move around on her own and had to get about in a wheelchair. <\/p>\n
Her husband finally couldnt bear to watch her suffer any longer, and in spite of her protests, brought her to see a specialist, who ordered a chest X-ray and CT scan. <\/p>\n
The results were conclusive; although she had never smoked in her life, she was diagnosed with Stage 3B non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). <\/p>\n
Her doctor insisted that she go for a follow-up biopsy to determine if she was EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) mutation positive. EGFR is a cell membrane receptor found on tumour cells, which shows increased activity in cancer cases. <\/p>\n
The results came back positive, so her doctor put her on drugs that inhibit EGFR (called EGFR-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors, or EGFR-TKI) for a month as part of her first-line treatment. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See the article here:<\/p>\n
Medicine for a mutation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new class of drugs offers hope to lung cancer patients who have a specific mutation in their tumour cells. LG LAU was in her mid-thirties when she was first diagnosed with lung cancer. Continue reading