Lung Cancer

Several updates highlighted at the 2012 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting as well as other developments.

New discoveries about tumor biology suggest to many researchers that targeted therapies, when used in appropriate early-stage patients, might significantly boost cure rates and extend lives.

While the number of known mutations and matching targeted agents is relatively limited at present, clinical trials are being designed to identify effective therapies for specific mutations more efficiently.

As therapy based on cell-signaling pathways has become a priority in cancer research, so has the concept of designing clinical trials that can better target patient populations more likely to benefit from a particular regimen.

Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, from Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute, explains that a number of new cytotoxic drugs are being developed in combination with targeted therapies, such as EGFR inhibitors.

William T. DeRosa, DO, from Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Morristown Memorial Hospital, discusses subset analyses from the phase III CA031 trial that examined nab-paclitaxel in non-small cell lung cancer.

Tianhong (Tina) Li, MD, PhD, from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses results from the LUX-Lung 3 trial that examined afatinib as a first-line treatment for patients with EGFR-positive advanced lung adenocarcinoma.

The FDA has accepted a NDA for afatinib to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who have tested positive for an EGFR mutation that has been identified through a companion diagnostic test.

Corey J. Langer, MD, from the University of Pennsylvania, Abramson Cancer Center, discusses the EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

An ever-deeper understanding of the biology that drives NSCLC is sparking new treatment paradigms that include selecting targeted drugs based on patients' biomarkers.

The 7th edition TNM staging system for NSCLC is an exciting accomplishment, and will help the clinician to better understand the outcomes of lung cancer and offers an exciting advance to our specialty.