Re-challenge treatment of small-molecular inhibitors in NSCLC patients beyond progression

In the past ten years, small-molecular inhibitors have presented exclusive promise on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and long-term survival has been achieved (1,2). However, drug resistance is still a huge blockade for clinical practice. Some recent studies greatly encouraged clinical physicians due to favorable outcomes obtained in NSCLC patients with disease progression (PD) after re-challenge treatment of small-molecular inhibitors such as crizitinib, gefitinib and erlotinib (3,4). It provided important evidences to guide the standard of personal treatment. However, there is still a long way to go.