Brain metastases are a common occurrence and a major cause of mortality in non-small-cell lung cancer, with few systemic treatment
options. Although targeting epidermal growth factor receptor-associated tyrosine kinase with erlotinib and gefitinib results
in durable responses in some patients, the activity of these drugs against brain metastases has been poorly documented. In
particular, few reports have so far reported the activity of erlotinib in this setting. Here we report the case of a male
Italian smoker with an adeno-carcinoma of the lung whose lung cancer and brain metastases have both responded to erlotinib.
Keywords Erlotinib – Brain metastases – Lung cancer