Gefitinib: A new agent in palliative care

In 2003, gefitinib (Iressa®, AstraZaneca, London, UK) in 250 mg tablet form received accelerated approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. Gefitinib targets the cancer cell at the molecular level and has the ability to palliate lung cancer symptoms. Gefitinib's ability to control symptoms with minimal toxicity provides physicians with a new option to complement current symptom control methods. It is nonmarrow suppressive and seems to have an ability to control symptoms quickly, even in the absence of obvious tumor reduction. However, further studies are needed to compare gefitinib's ability to control symptoms with intensive palliative modalities for lung cancer, such as opioids, oxygen, and radiation therapy.