A group of scientists at the Medical University of Vienna has found a new and promising way to treat a common and hard-to-treat type of lung cancer.
This cancer, known as KRAS-mutated lung adenocarcinoma, affects about one in three patients with this form of lung cancer—especially those with a history of smoking.
The new treatment approach uses two types of drugs that are already well-known: ERBB inhibitors and Aurora kinase inhibitors. The researchers discovered that using these two drugs together works much better than the treatments that are currently available. Their study was published in the journal npj Precision Oncology.
KRAS mutations are known to make lung cancer more aggressive and harder to treat. There are some newer drugs like sotorasib that target the KRAS mutation directly, but their benefits don’t last long.
Within a few months, many tumors learn how to get around the drug by activating other pathways that help them survive. This problem inspired the research team, led by Iris Uras Jodl, to search for another way to stop the cancer from growing.
The team found that even though these cancer cells try to escape treatment by using other survival methods, they still rely on certain molecules to stay alive. These include ERBB receptors and Aurora kinases.
ERBB receptors help cancer cells respond to signals that tell them to grow, while Aurora kinases are involved in cell division. When both of these are blocked, cancer cells cannot continue to multiply.
The researchers tested the drug combination using cells and mice. They found that the drugs worked extremely well together. The combo caused the cancer cells to die in a controlled way, stopped them from dividing, and prevented the usual backup methods tumors use to survive.
What’s even more exciting is that this treatment combination worked not just on new tumors, but also on tumors that had already become resistant to other treatments like afatinib and sotorasib.
By targeting both ERBB and Aurora kinases at the same time, the researchers were able to destroy cancer cells that had previously found ways to escape treatment.
This is very promising news for patients with KRAS-mutated lung cancer, especially since the drugs used are already either approved or in clinical trials.
Afatinib, for example, is already on the market, and Aurora kinase inhibitors are currently being tested in humans. This could mean that patients might have access to this new treatment sooner rather than later.
Dr. Uras Jodl said that the combination could represent a breakthrough for people who have very few treatment options today. The next steps involve more detailed studies to confirm these findings and move toward real-world use.
This research brings new hope to people facing one of the most difficult types of lung cancer. If future studies confirm the results, this drug combination could change how doctors treat KRAS-mutated lung adenocarcinoma, offering better chances for long-term control of the disease.
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