Dr. Hirsch on Value of PD-L1 Testing in Patients With Lung Cancer

Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, CEO, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), discusses the value of PD-L1 assays for patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Hirsch shared his during an interview at the 2016 IASLC Multidisciplinary Symposium on Thoracic Oncology.

Some studies clearly indicate a significant role for PD-L1 assays in predicting outcome for patients with NSCLC, Hirsch adds, while others do not disclose such importance with such tests. He adds that there are not significant differences between the PD-1 and PD-L1 antibodies, and evidence suggests that the efficacy and safety are relatively similar.

The challenge is, however, is that each of the PD-1/PD-L1 drugs are associated with their own predictive PD-L1 assay. This is because there are differences in cut-off values, Hirsch explains.