Melatonin Sensitizes H1975 Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells Harboring a T790M-Targeted Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation to the Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Gefitinib

The use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to target active epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-harbouring mutations has been effective in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the use of TKIs in NSCLS patients with somatic EGFR mutations, particularly T790M, causes drug resistance. Thus, in the present study, we investigated overcoming resistance against the TKI gefitinib by combination treatment with melatonin in H1975 NSCLC cells harbouring the T790M somatic mutation.