The Effect of Afatinib Treatment in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a very aggressive and histologically heterogeneous type of lung cancer. The main problem in the treatment of NSCLC is chemoresistance and metastasis. Compared to other malignant tumors, many molecular mechanisms are dysfunctional in NSCLC. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most frequently mutated genes in NSCLC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the effect of afatinib the against A549 NSCLC cell line, because it is active against mutated EGFR. Moreover, we aimed to investigate the mRNA level of HSPA5 (one of the heat shock proteins that can contribute in the down-regulation of the EGF-signaling pathway) before and after afatinib treatment.

RESULTS: Afatinib treatment induced apoptosis and decreased levels of HSPA5 mRNA in cancer cells.

CONCLUSION: Advanced analysis, might be helpful in understanding the mechanisms of relations between tyrosine kinase inhibition of EGFR and HSPA5 in lung cancer cells.