Therapeutic Approaches for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Summary
Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) encompasses a heterogeneous group of tumours characterised by diverse molecular drivers and histological subtypes. Traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy remains a backbone of treatment but has been progressively supplemented by precision therapies targeting driver mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and other oncogenic kinases. The advent of immune-checkpoint inhibitors directed against programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) or its ligand PD-L1 has transformed clinical outcomes, yielding durable responses in a subset of patients. Antiangiogenic agents that inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor signalling have also been integrated into combination regimens to disrupt tumour vasculature and enhance drug delivery. Despite these advances, therapeutic resistance—both primary and acquired—poses a persistent obstacle, driving exploration of sequential and combination approaches and the identification of predictive biomarkers. Precision oncology relies increasingly on molecular profiling of circulating tumour DNA and extracellular vesicles to guide selection of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, immune-checkpoint blockade and novel agents targeting emerging pathways such as MET amplification or KRAS mutations. Globally, the refinement of multimodal strategies aims to balance efficacy, tolerability and quality of life, extending survival while reducing treatment-related toxicity.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Therapeutic Approaches for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in therapeutic approaches for advanced non-small cell lung cancer across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): A broad category of lung cancers excluding small-cell histology, including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and large-cell carcinoma.
Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitor: A monoclonal antibody that blocks inhibitory immune receptors (such as PD-1 or PD-L1) to enhance anti-tumour T-cell activity.
Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI): A small molecule that inhibits phosphorylation of receptor tyrosine kinases involved in tumour proliferation and survival.
Progression-Free Survival (PFS): The length of time during and after treatment in which a patient’s disease does not worsen.
Objective Response Rate (ORR): The proportion of patients with a predefined reduction in tumour burden.
Extracellular Vesicle (EV): A membrane-bound particle released by cells that carries proteins, lipids and nucleic acids and may serve as a biomarker source.
References
- Efficacy and safety of immunotherapy combined with single-agent chemotherapy as second- or later-line therapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Frontiers in Immunology (2023).
- Efficacy of Anlotinib Plus Docetaxel in Advanced NSCLC Previously Treated with Platinum-Based Chemotherapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Pharmaceuticals (2025).
- Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody therapy for pretreated advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer. Medicine (2016).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.