Tarceva (erlotinib) is not a cure for lung cancer. Tarceva is a type of targeted cancer therapy that is used in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread. It may help to shrink tumors.
Tarceva helps prolong how long NSCLC patients live for without their cancer progressing (progression-free survival time) and also helps to increase the amount of time patients live with their cancer (overall survival time).