Lung Cancer

New classes of immunotherapies emerging in lung cancer are building on previous success with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors.

The European Commission has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as a treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic PD-L1–positive non–small cell lung cancer following at least 1 chemotherapy regimen.

Vamsidhar Velcheti, MD, discusses recent advancements in the ALK-positive landscape of non-small cell lung cancer, along with key questions that still remain.

James Stevenson, MD, discusses developments and ongoing research in squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

Kevin Stephans, MD, discusses the latest research developments in oligometastases for patients with lung cancer.

Areej R. El-Jawahri, MD, assistant in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses a study examining early integrated palliative care for patients with gastrointestinal (GI) or lung cancer and the impact it has on family caregiver outcomes.

A phase I/II study will explore the delta-like protein 3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T) with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) alone or in combination with the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy) for patients with relapsed extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive option for crizotinib (Xalkori) as a treatment for adults with ROS1-positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer, suggesting an approval may be imminent.

Nathan Pennell, MD, PhD, discusses 3 available—and competing—agents in EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer, as well as ongoing clinical trials at Cleveland Clinic exploring other regimens for this patient population.

Heather A. Wakelee, MD, associate professor of Medicine (Oncology), Stanford University Medical Center, discusses how immunotherapy agents compare with targeted therapies in patients with non–small cell lung cancer who harbor genetic alternations.

Mark W. Kris, MD, discusses immunotherapy, frontline therapies for nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer, and advancements in squamous cell carcinoma.

Shirish Gadgeel, MD, discusses the KEYNOTE-021 and KEYNOTE-189 studies, which are both examining pembrolizumab with chemotherapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer.