MET as a Therapeutic Target: Have Clinical Outcomes Been “MET” in Lung Cancer?

Abstract

Targeted therapy is an especially attractive approach for treating lung cancer since overactivation of oncogenic proteins often drives disease progression. In particular, dysregulation of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) pathway via genetic mechanisms, such as gene amplification and exon 14 skipping mutations, has been identified. With significant advancements made in the realm of targeted therapeutics, such as small molecules and antagonistic antibodies, developing novel strategies to target MET is at the forefront of lung cancer treatment. This chapter will introduce the MET signaling pathway and various genetic abnormalities implicated in lung cancer. Then, the currently used MET-targeted therapies and investigative agents will be highlighted along with their status in clinical trials. The final section will shed light on preclinical data revealing possible mechanisms of resistance to MET-targeted therapy.