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As reported by Langer et al in The Lancet Oncology, findings in a phase II cohort of the multicohort KEYNOTE-021 study showed that the addition of first-line pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to carboplatin/pemetrexed (Alimta) significantly increased the response rate in patients with advanced nonsquamous...
Martin Reck, MD, PhD, of the LungenClinic, discusses in German study findings on pembrolizumab vs platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer with a PD-L1 tumor proportion score ≥50%. (Abstract LBA8)
The addition of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to standard first-line chemotherapy for treatment-naive advanced non–small cell lung cancer significantly improves response rates and progression-free survival, Langer et al reported at the 2016...
In a secondary analysis from the NRG Oncology RTOG 0617 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chun et al found that use of intensity-modulated vs three-dimensional (3D) conformal external-beam radiation therapy was associated with a reduced risk for severe pneumonitis and reduced the...
Luis G. Paz-Ares, MD, PhD, of the Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre, discusses in Spanish overall survival data on afatinib vs gefitinib in patients with EGFR mutation–positive non–small cell lung cancer. (Abstract LBA43)
Giorgio V. Scagliotti, MD, PhD, of the University of Torino, discusses in Italian study findings on ceritinib vs chemotherapy in patients with advanced ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer previously treated with chemotherapy and crizotinib.
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly improved progression-free and overall survival vs platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with previously untreated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ≥ 50% PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) expression and no sensitizing EGFR...
Ceritinib (Zykadia) provides longer progression-free survival than chemotherapy in crizotinib–pretreated patients with non–small cell lung cancer harboring an ALK rearrangement, according to results of the phase III ASCEND-5 study presented by Scagliotti et al at the European Society...
The first phase III study of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in previously treated non–small cell lung cancer has seen significant improvements in survival compared to standard chemotherapy, reported Barlesi et al at the European Society for Medical...
Fabrice Barlesi, MD, PhD, of Aix Marseille University and Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille, discusses in French phase III findings on a comparison of atezolizumab with docetaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. (Abstract LBA44)
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is set to become a new option for first-line treatment of patients with advanced lung cancer and high programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, according to the results of the phase III KEYNOTE-024 trial presented by Reck et al at the 2016 European Society for ...
Fabrice Barlesi, MD, PhD, of Aix Marseille University and Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille, discusses phase III findings on a comparison of atezolizumab with docetaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. (Abstract LBA44)
Martin Reck, MD, PhD, of the LungenClinic, discusses study findings on pembrolizumab vs platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer with a PD-L1 tumor proportion score ≥50%. (Abstract LBA8)
Giorgio V. Scagliotti, MD, PhD, of the University of Torino, discusses study findings on ceritinib vs chemotherapy in patients with advanced ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer previously treated with chemotherapy and crizotinib. (Abstract LBA42)
Luis G. Paz-Ares, MD, PhD, of the Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre, discusses overall survival data on afatinib vs gefitinib in patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. (Abstract LBA43)
Tony Mok, MD, of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, discusses the final overall survival analysis from this trial on gefitinib/chemotherapy vs chemotherapy in EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer after progression on first-line gefitinib. (Abstr 1201O)
In a pooled analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gadgeel et al found that alectinib (Alecensa) was associated with good central nervous system (CNS) response in patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with crizotinib (Xalkori). Study ...
Pang et al found that the enrollment disparity in clinical trials in lung cancer has been reduced in recent years for older patients and women overall, according to a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. However, disparities persist for elderly women, blacks, Asian/Pacific Islanders, ...
Ever since the immune checkpoint agents arrived, the pace of clinical investigation in oncology has continued to accelerate with an ever-increasing number of trials of single-agent and combination therapies with novel designs that are transforming our drug-development process. However, even in...
In a phase III trial (CA184-156) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Martin Reck, MD, PhD, of LungenClinic Grosshansdorf, Germany, and colleagues, the addition of the anti–CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4) checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy) to...
On October 4, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted alectinib (Alecesna), an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor, a second Breakthrough Therapy designation. This latest designation was granted for the treatment of adult patients with advanced ALK-positive non–small...
On September 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a blood-based companion diagnostic for osimertinib (Tagrisso). The companion diagnostic for osimertinib is the only FDA-approved and clinically validated companion diagnostic test that uses either tissue or a blood sample ...
Enhanced, culturally competent communication with early-stage lung cancer patients can narrow racial gaps in curative treatment completion and increase treatment rates for all races, according to research presented by Manning et al at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation...
For patients with stage II and III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) unable to receive standard treatments of surgery or chemoradiation, hypofractionated radiation therapy results in similar overall survival and progression-free survival rates, limited severe side effects, and shorter...
Maria Werner-Wasik, MD, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, summarizes a session she moderated on lung toxicity, including the impact of cardiac radiation, the risk of radiation to thoracic vertebral bodies, radiation pneumonitis, and upfront SBRT. (Scientific Session 39)
A new analysis of records in the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry demonstrates a clear positive impact of the increased use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to treat patients with stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in recent years, according to research presented...
Survival rates for elderly patients who received stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for early stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) rose from roughly 40% to 60% over the past decade, concurrent with the increasing adoption of SBRT, according to research presented by Dalwadi et al...
Thomas J. Lynch, Jr, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, summarizes his keynote lecture on whether we are any closer to curing lung cancer with targeted treatments. (Keynote Address 2)
A multibasket phase Ib study evaluating the clinical activity, tolerability, and antitumor activity of the cytokine-based immunotherapy AM0010 alone or in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has found that in monotherapy, objective responses to AM0010 were ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) therapy, for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
Clinicians face a number of questions in evaluating and treating patients with stage IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One expert in the field, Rafael Santana-Davila, MD, reviewed key issues in managing this disease in the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP). The ASCO Post asked Dr....
For the majority of patients who are diagnosed with advanced-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), platinum-based doublets have been the standard of care for over 30 years. Recently, the immune checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) demonstrated superior survival ...
The phase I CheckMate 012 study examined the effects of nivolumab (Opdivo) monotherapy and nivolumab combined with platinum-based doublets as first-line treatments in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Encouraging efficacy and safety findings were reported in the Journal...
The combined use of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) identified non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with rare or novel anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements, not otherwise identified by FISH alone, that showed response to...
On September 13, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) modified the dosage regimen for nivolumab (Opdivo) for the currently approved indications for renal cell carcinoma, metastatic melanoma, and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The currently approved recommended dosage...
In a UK-based phase III noninferiority trial (QUARTZ) reported in The Lancet, Mulvenna et al found that use of whole-brain radiotherapy in addition to optimal supportive care including dexamethasone was associated with little additional benefit in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) therapy, for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non–small...
On August 2, 2016, PharmaMar announced the start of a pivotal phase III ATLANTIS study evaluating the efficacy and safety of lurbinectedin (PM1183), a novel synthetic tetrahydroisoquinoline that targets active transcription. The study is evaluating lurbinectedin combined with doxorubicin vs...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Nishino et al identified the rates of PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) inhibitor–related pneumonitis in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), renal cell carcinoma, and melanoma. Rates were...
Analysis of a large non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient cohort with stage IV M1a disease identified lymph node staging as having clinical significance and an impact on prognosis. Findings from the study were published by Dai et al in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. Lung cancer is...
Sarah B. Goldberg, MD, of Yale University School of Medicine, and colleagues found that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was active in untreated or progressive brain metastases in melanoma and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a single-center phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology....
Patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) positive for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor T790M resistance mutation on a plasma assay had similar outcomes with the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib (Tagrisso) as did those who were positive ...
Lucio Crinò, MD, of the University Medical School of Perugia, Italy, and colleagues found that ceritinib (Zykadia) was active overall and in central nervous system (CNS) metastases in patients with ALK-rearranged advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with crizotinib...
In the phase I/II CheckMate 032 study, nivolumab (Opdivo) alone and with ipilimumab (Yervoy) demonstrated activity in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) progressing after at least one previous platinum regimen, as reported in The Lancet Oncology by Antonia et al. Study Details In the SCLC...
Looking back, I’m haunted by what might have been if my advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had been caught in its earliest stage, when perhaps a cure was possible. I certainly presented my physicians with enough clues—shortness of breath, coughing, and some body weakness—to have warranted...
Computers can be trained to be more accurate than pathologists in assessing slides of lung cancer tissues, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The researchers found that a machine-learning approach to identifying critical disease-related features...
Leptomeningeal metastases, a serious complication in lung cancer patients, were found to be more prevalent in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. In a recent study of leptomeningeal metastases published by Li et al in...
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced last week that CheckMate-026, a phase III trial investigating the use of nivolumab (Opdivo) as monotherapy, did not meet its primary endpoint of progression-free survival in patients with previously untreated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)...
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Planchard et al found that combined MAPK pathway inhibition with the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and the MEK inhibitor trametinib (Mekinist) resulted in a high response rate in patients with BRAF V600E–mutant non–small cell lung cancer...
As reported by Walter et al in The Lancet Oncology, incidence screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) in high-risk individuals detected new solid nodules in approximately 5% to 7% at second and third screenings in the ongoing Dutch-Belgian NELSON trial. Larger nodule size was associated...