Improving EGFR kinase inhibitor design for the targeted treatment of lung cancer.

With over 174,000 new cases of lung cancer being diagnosed in the United States each year novel chemotherapy treatments with efficacy towards both small-cell and non-small cell lung carcinoma is of interest to increase the survival rate of cancer patients.1,2 Historically pharmaceutical treatments have been based on surgery, radiation therapy, and broad spectrum chemotherapies. New research is now focused on targeted approaches that seek to either inhibit specific proteins necessary for cellular proliferation or to initiate apoptosis for the removal of cancerous cells. The Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF) and its Receptor (EGFR) EGFR is protein that initiates cellular growth and has been found to be overexpressed in cancer cells which makes it an effective targeted approach to cancer treatment.3-5 Specifically, this research determined structural blockade of the tyrosine kinase receptor of the EGFR as a way to inhibit cancer propagation with the use of FDA approved drugs. 22 crystal structures of the tyrosine kinase of the EGFR protein were docked using IGEMDock to 714 FDA drugs to determine structural correlation for the most effective binders. Structural similarities were determined wih IGEMDock and vROCS and partition coefficient was determined using DRAGON program. This data found a cluster of approximately 25 drugs to preferentially bind to the EGFR tyrosine kinase for use as targeted cancer treatments. This work will be used in the engineering of improved EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.