Lung cancer drug development: From traditional chemotherapy to targeted and immunotherapies

Abstract. Lung cancer remains one of the deadliest types of cancer in the world, with the number of deaths due to lung cancer increasing dramatically year after year. In the same period, the approach to the treatment of lung cancer has changed dramatically over the past few decades, from systemic chemotherapeutic drugs-platinum-based drugs in the beginning to a wide range of newer therapeutic approaches such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies at the present time. This article reviews the development of drug therapy for lung cancer. By comparing the differences in mechanism of action and clinical side effects between traditional chemotherapeutic drugs and targeted drugs, we aim to highlight the importance of the development of new targeted drugs and new therapeutic means. In addition, the article also analyses the development and achievements of novel drugs targeting NSCLC with MET-14 exon mutations, and looks into the possible future therapeutic strategies, but there are some research gaps in combination therapy. Through an analysis of the development of lung cancer drugs, this paper aims to provide a more comprehensive perspective to provide guidance for the development and treatment of lung cancer drugs in the future, but there are still a lot of different efficacies brought about by the combination of drugs that have not been resolved, and future research can focus on the direction of the combination of therapies.