Novel Multitarget Therapies for Lung Cancer and Respiratory Disease

Abstract

In recent years, multitarget drugs for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease have been developed and well researched. Many studies have revealed that multitarget drugs are also useful for lung cancer and respiratory diseases. Pemetrexed is a multitargeted antifolate with strong antitumor activity against mesothelioma and lung adenocarcinoma. Crizotinib is an ATP-competitive tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets c-MET, ROS1, and ALK. Alectinib is known as an ALK inhibitor but also targets LTK, CHEK2, FLT3, PHKG2, and RET. Sorafenib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets RAF kinase, KIT, VEGFR, PDGFR1β, FLT3, and RET. Nintedanib is a multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets FGFR, PDGFR, and VEGFR. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms of action of multitarget therapies and report the results of the latest clinical trials.