In patients with NSCLC with metastatic or recurring diseases harboring sensitizing EGFR mutation, targeted therapy using these small-molecule TKIs resulted in significantly increased progression-free survival (PFS), compared with platinum doublet chemotherapy (10–19 vs. 5.4 months), and extension of overall survival (OS; 31–38 vs. 26 months; refs. 7–12). This evidence concerns the gene EGFR and non-small cell lung carcinoma.