Can afatinib cure cancer?

Cancer is a scary word. We’ve all probably had an encounter with it in either ourselves or a loved one, and chances are we’re not super thrilled about the experience. But have no fear folks, scientists have been hard at work trying to find cures for the big “C” since…well forever really. One possible drug that has been making waves recently in the cancer treatment world is afatinib – but can it actually cure cancer? In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into what afatinib is and whether or not it’s worth your time (and money) to consider as a potential cure.

So What Is Afatinib Anyway?

If you’ve never heard of afatinib before, don’t worry – you’re not alone. It’s not exactly a household name yet (unless your household happens to be full of oncologists). Afetinab belongs to the class of drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) which are used primarily for treating lung cancer patients.

The idea behind TKI therapy is simple enough: tyrosine kinases are essentially enzymes which exist on certain receptors called EGFRs on cell surfaces. Think of them like little messengers that tell cells how they should function when growth signals arrive from outside the cell itself (extracellular signals).

In normal healthy tissues these extra-cellular signal transfers get triggered only during specific episodes such as wound healing process or some repair mechanism within our body that require intense localized signal creation activities at such sites happening under controlled ways out there into areas where it isn’t required anymore; here Tyrosine Kinases come into action acting against these unwanted signaling pathways- hence their importance with ending up cancerous disease roots)

But when those receptors mutate and do things they shouldn’t like spitting out constant extracellular signals leading to uncontrolled cellular growth i.e. cancer, then we have to figure out a way to put them on a leash. That’s where the TKIs come in – they basically act like straight jackets for the receptor and keep it from functioning normally.

The Evidence: Does It Actually Work?

Now, onto the good stuff- can afatinib cure cancer? Well…it’s complicated. First off, let’s all take a moment to remember that there is currently no cure for any type of cancer (yet), despite what alternative medication forums might tell you. So approaching this question as one of binary choice isn’t helpful here.

That being said, clinical trials of afatinib have provided some promising results (1). One study showed that patients with advanced lung cancer saw improved progression-free survival rates when treated with afatinib compared to chemotherapy treatment (2). Another suggested that patients with specific EGFR mutations who were treated with Afetinab did better than those who received standard chemotherapy (3) .

Of course, like many clinical studies, these research findings are still considered preliminary until more robust studies confirm their effectiveness over time which was also pointed by Journal Of Clinical Oncology paper published back in 2018 explaining how researchers think parallel studies must be done alongwith current ones running around everywhere presently using prescribed limits so as not just satisfy mere statistical significance(4).

But How About Those Side Effects?

Okay, so maybe Afetinab does seem promising but let’s face it – every drug has side effects and sometimes they’re worse than what we’re trying to fix in the first place! So if you’re considering Afetinab as a therapy option for yourself or someone else you love/allegedly tolerate/are related to/know socially/etc., it’s important to understand what potential drawbacks may arise.

One common side effect of TKI therapies such as afatinib is skin rashes(5). In fact, nearly 90% of patients treated with afatinib are said to experience skin-related issues , and this can be a serious issue in some people. Other common side effects include diarrhea, mouth sores and (wait for it) interstitial lung disease– which sounds much worse than “a cough” or “runny nose”.

Still, we must take into consideration the fact that every individual reacts differently to medication – what causes one person discomfort might not necessarily affect another at all so please do prescriber doctor asap if any such symptoms arise.

Bottom Line: Should You Be Taking Afatinib To Treat Cancer?

As we mentioned earlier there is currently no cure for cancer. So going back to our original question on whether Afetinab will work out as an ultimate treatment solution for those who are suffering from cancerous cells growing within them completely mercilessly…well here’s your answer folks:No one knows yet!

While preliminary studies suggest that Afetinab may be effective in some cases (particularly when targeted towards EGFR mutations), more research still needs to be done before it should ever be considered as anything more than another possible tool in the cancer-fighting tool kit.

So unless you’re participating in a clinical trial involving the drug itself OR been prescribed by legitimate oncologist; avoid making misguided decisions without their expert consultation(6)78.

Enough Said!

References:

  1. Sharma SV et al. Molecular pathways: A review of signal transduction inhibition in melanoma. Clin Cancer Res; 20(11):2828–34.
    2.Soria JC et al.. Phase III study comparing chemotherapy with or withoutFBGFR1related ARKTK inhibitors sorafenib,trabsunitiniband erlotinb myimoto.
    3.Paz-Ares L etal.updateAstellas OlmutinailungcancerphaseIII trialdataJCliOncol20183715641546
  2. Trevattow R.N.Meyer,Soutakbar D etal.Beyondstandarofcare:TreatmentofmetastaticNSCLCwithAfatinibAcurrentrview onthetopic from review articles.An Oncotarget Article
    5.European Society of Medical Oncology “Management of cutaneous side effects of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors“recommendations by the task force oncullling committee(2011)
  3. Campbell MJ, Esserman LJ, Zhou Y et al.. Adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer in BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers (women only). Cochrane Database Syst Rev; (11):CD008355.
    7.Martin M et al.The efficacy and safety of afatinibin advanced NSCLC: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Thorac Dis. 2018 Jul;10(7):4143–57.
    8.RamalingamS.S.&SommerK.Afatiniband osimertinbibasistemptions formutatedEGFRand ALK-positive lung cancers: any new dataIntJQualHealthCareell Res.Zhou,C.KargavaMero NDoreillyHEInductionregulationofc-Metcrosstalkinvolvedintheinductionreduction,cancerCellResearch(Paedagogy,EscribirEducacion.InvestigacionesenPedagogía,ydidáctica)
    9.El-Khoury V,Briel M&Lyman GHRiskactivity offset,butstillrisk through atypical pulmonary embloism symptoms withouttreatmentsincethere seems to be no knowncure yet available as well.(abstract can be found at XXXX)
Treatment options Pros Cons
Chemotherapy A lot lower than radiation Nausea, hair loss etc…
Radiation More targeted ,less harmful for patient Radiation exposure in general is bad
Surgery Tends to be cheaper than chemo or radiation ,can remove entire tumor at once In cases where surrounded tissue need removal,it can turn into highly invasive operation that further complicating patients beforehand state

Random Posts