Lung Cancer

Nathan Pennell, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, discusses the importance of testing patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to determine if they harbor the EGFR mutation, as well as the agents available to target that genetic abnormality.

A new drug application has been submitted for brigatinib (AP26113) as a potential treatment for patients with advanced ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer following resistance or intolerance to crizotinib (Xalkori).

Karen Kelly, MD, associate director for Clinical Research, Jennifer Rene Harmon Tegley and Elizabeth Erica Harmon Endowed Chair in Cancer Clinical Research, professor of Medicine, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, UC Davis Health System, discusses the potential of immunotherapy combinations as treatment for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Shirish Gadgeel, MD, medical oncologist, leader of the Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, discusses the KEYNOTE-021 study, which is examining the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and chemotherapy as a potential treatment for patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

In patients with EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer, the incidence of leptomeningeal metastases is found to be common; moreover, the optimal treatment for this occurrence was determined to be tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Paul Baas, MD, professor, Department of Thoracic Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, discusses the future of treatment in mesothelioma.

Biomarkers, such as immune cell PD-L1 expression, mutational burden, and immune system activation should be investigated further to clarify the mechanisms behind response and nonresponse to immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer.

Paul A. Bunn Jr, MD, discusses the meaning of the CheckMate-026 results with frontline nivolumab in NSCLC and issues with the trial's primary endpoint of progression-free survival.

Biomarker-driven trials that include multiple substudies represent a new approach for investigating which patients with lung cancer are more likely to respond to different targeted therapies and are helping to set the pace throughout the oncology field.

The past few years have seen rapid evolution in the treatment and handling of advanced non–small cell lung cancer, prompting questions on how to optimize immunotherapies and targeted agents as well as incorporate biomarker testing.

The optimal use of emerging assays that characterize molecular abnormalities from plasma in late-stage non–small cell lung cancer will be to augment tissue biopsies at initial diagnosis and to evaluate patients for second- and third-line therapies.

The combination of selumetinib and docetaxel failed to improve survival compared with docetaxel alone as a second-line treatment for patients with KRAS-mutant locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.

Paul A. Bunn Jr, MD, discussed how combining immunotherapy with chemotherapy, molecular therapy, or anti-angiogenic therapy has shown promising results in recent randomized trials of patients with lung cancer, although the combinations have yet to demonstrate clear superiority.

The value of PD-L1 expression when using checkpoint inhibitors in non–small cell lung cancer is underscored by the just-announced disappointing progression-free survival findings from the phase III CheckMate-026 study of frontline nivolumab (Opdivo) versus physician's choice of combination chemotherapy.

Howard L. (Jack) West, MD, medical oncologist, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, Swedish Cancer Institute, discusses recent advancements for patients with T790M-mutant non–small cell lung cancer.

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology), professor of Pharmacology, chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, associate director for Translational Research, Disease Alligned Research Team Leader, Thoracic Oncology Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses the next generation of agents coming down the pipeline in non–small cell lung cancer.

David R. Gandara, MD, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, professor, senior advisor to director, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, UC Davis Health System, discusses the most recent—and significant—advancements in the field of lung cancer.

ROS1 and TRK are two emerging targets that have significant therapeutic promise for patients with non–small cell lung cancer, although they are not commonly considered while doing mutation testing.

Tony Mok, MD, discussed translational advances on the horizon in non-small cell lung cancer during a presentation at the 2016 International Lung Cancer Congress.