The continuing role of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung represents about 20-30% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and is associated with a poorer prognosis with limited treatment options. Erlotinib is an approved, standard second-line therapy in this setting, besides docetaxel. The LUX-Lung 8 study has shown superior overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), as well as disease control rates for treatment with afatinib compared to erlotinib in this head-to-head trial in patients with previously treated advanced SCC of the lung, with manageable side effect profile. This is the first and largest prospective phase III trial comparing two different tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with advanced SCC of the lung. Whether the results would be practice-changing remains to be seen, especially with the advent of novel immunotherapeutic agents such as nivolumab, which is recently approved for advanced lung SCC.