New Directions in Oncology Nursing Care: Focus on Gefitinib in Patients With Lung Cancer

Treatment of solid tumors with chemotherapy regimens commonly is associated with debilitating or life-threatening side effects. Careful patient management, appropriate and prompt management of side effects, and interruption of therapy frequently are required for patients receiving chemotherapy. Furthermore, the systemic toxicity associated with chemotherapy may result in irreversible and incapacitating side effects, such as peripheral neuropathy, that lead to poor quality of life in patients. Gefitinib (Iressa®, ZD1839, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Wilmington, DE) is a biologically based, molecular targeted therapy with a novel mechanism of action: selective inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) activity. Once-daily oral treatment with gefitinib is well tolerated. In clinical trials, treatment with gefitinib resulted in durable tumor responses and improvement in lung cancer-related symptoms in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who had received prior chemotherapy. Trials are under way to explore the full potential of gefitinib and additional EGFR-TK inhibitors for other solid tumors and in other treatment settings, including prevention. Biologically based, molecular-targeted therapies such as gefitinib are providing new treatment options for patients and adding a new dimension to clinical practice for oncology nurses.