On September 29, 2024, on Yale Cancer Answers, Dr. Eric Winer interviewed Katerina Politi, PhD, Joseph A. and Lucille K. Madri Professor of Pathology. Dr. Politi is a cancer biologist and researcher focused on studying lung cancer to answer the following questions: What are the alterations in cellular pathways that cause tumors to form? How can we interfere with these pathways to get tumors to regress? How do tumors become resistant to drugs? How can we detect tumors early when they are still curable?
On this episode of Yale Cancer Answers, Dr. Politi reflects on the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the EGFR mutation in lung cancer and the future of precision medicine. The discovery of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations as drivers of tumorigenesis and viable targets for therapeutic intervention marked the beginning of a new era in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. Since then, the field has made remarkable progress towards developing more effective targeted treatments and immunotherapies that have significantly improved patient outcomes and survival.
"The discovery of a specific resistance mechanism to targeted therapies in EGFR mutant lung cancer allowed scientists to focus their efforts on figuring out ways to overcome such resistance,” explained Dr. Politi. “We now have new therapies that target tumors with resistance to EGFR targeted therapies."