Traditional Chinese Medicine reverses resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a narrative review.

OBJECTIVE: To review mechanisms of the resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and the reversal of this resistance by traditional Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs). METHODS: Searching China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, PubMed and Embase for related researches RESULTS: T790M mutation, MET amplification, C797S mutation, Inactivation of PTEN gene expression and Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are the main mechanisms of the resistance to EGFR-TKIs. CHMs may reverse the resistance by inhibiting MET activation, inhibiting PI3K/AKT pathways, regulating apoptosis and P-glycoprotein (P-gp). CONCLUSION: Many resistance mechanisms of EGFR-TKIs in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer still need to be explored. CHMs have great research potential in reversing the resistance to EGFR-TKIs.