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An analysis of patients from 4 prospective radiotherapy trials for locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) conducted at 2 centers in Michigan showed that grade ≥ 3 cardiac events occurred in more than 10% of patients. The study was reported by Dess et al in the Journal of...
Treatment with the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) yielded durable responses in some patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with a 5-year survival rate of 16%, according to data from a phase I clinical trial presented by Brahmer et al at the American...
On March 30, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to osimertinib (Tagrisso) for the treatment of patients with metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an...
In a study of four immunohistochemistry programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression assays registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), scoring was highly concordant for expression in tumor cells but poorly concordant for scoring in immune cells in non–small cell lung...
Promising 3-year outcomes were found in patients from a Japanese phase I/II study of alectinib (Alecensa) in previously treated patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The findings were reported by Tamura et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details In the ...
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements define a subset of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients for whom ALK inhibitors are highly effective. In PROFILE 1014, the multitargeted ALK inhibitor crizotinib (Xalkori) was shown to be superior to platinum/pemetrexed (Alimta) chemotherapy...
In the phase III ASCEND-4 trial reported in The Lancet, Jean-Charles Soria, MD, of Institut Gustave Roussy, and colleagues found that ceritinib (Zykadia) improved progression-free survival vs platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase...
Discussant Heather L. McArthur, MD, MPH, Medical Director of Breast Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, called the plinabulin findings “provocative,” especially considering the substantial impact on durability of response. Specifically with the addition of plinabulin to docetaxel, ...
The investigational small-molecule plinabulin yielded some interesting benefits when added to docetaxel in previously treated patients with stage III/IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in a phase II study.1 Although the benefit of the doublet was modest in the overall study population, the...
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has endorsed a report released by the Core Team for Tobacco Control that outlines key action items that can be taken immediately to accelerate progress toward ending cigarette smoking in adults. Issuing their Executive Summary ...
Ann W. Silk, MD, of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, presented the day’s highlights and commented that the study by Hellmann et al shows the utility, and, in fact, the necessity, of developing a new means of estimating outcomes for patients treated with immunotherapies....
Statistical modeling of long-term survival from the KEYNOTE trials of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)–inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) estimates that one-quarter of appropriately selected patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may attain long-term survival.1 “In...
In a report from the Global, Multicenter RET Registry in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gautschi et al documented response rates with multikinase RET inhibitors in patients with RET-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Details The study involved registry data (through...
Patients in their 80s and 90s who have early-stage lung cancer but cannot undergo an operation can be treated safely and effectively with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), according to research presented by Cassidy et al at the 2017 Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium (Abstract...
New research led by a radiation oncologist at Roswell Park Cancer Institute indicates that less may be more when it comes to some forms of radiation therapy for cancer. In a presentation highlighted in a plenary session (Abstract 4) at the 2017 Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium in San...
Douglas E. Wood, MD, of the University of Washington, discusses the importance of broad access to and education about lung cancer screening—now approved for people at high risk for the disease—and the need for expanded criteria for screening eligibility.
Charles B. Simone, II, MD, of the University of Maryland Medical Center, discusses results from a large prospective study in locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer, which suggest that circulating tumor cells may be a promising biomarker of progressive or recurrent disease and may help guide early salvage treatment strategies (Abstract 3).
Boris Sepesi, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses immune cells within tumors and the potential role for checkpoint inhibitor therapy in the neoadjuvant setting of locally advanced lung cancer (Abstract 7).
Zofia Piotrowska, MD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, discusses heterogeneity and variation in resistance mechanisms among EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer patients with at least one postresistance biopsy (Abstract 1).
Zhongxing Liao, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the continued improvement in planning, delivery, and patient selection for proton therapy, which can both reduce radiation exposure and increase tumor dose.
Jennifer Ho, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, discusses study results on the use of intensity-modulated proton therapy, which can provide durable local control with minimal toxicity in patients who can have extended survivals; the data also suggest that higher doses may improve outcomes (Abstract 5).
Tracey L. Evans, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the data supporting use of chemotherapy with radiation in locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer, targeted treatments and immunotherapy, and some of the controversies now debated.
Martin J. Edelman, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses study findings from a phase III study of celecoxib in addition to standard chemotherapy for advanced non–small cell lung cancer with COX-2 overexpression (Abstract 2).
Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD, of Stanford School of Medicine, discusses promising clinical applications of circulating tumor DNA in patients with thoracic malignancies: noninvasive detection of resistance mechanisms to targeted agents and treatment response assessment.
Shraddha M. Dalwadi, MBA, MD Candidate in the class of 2017 at Texas A&M Health Science Center, discusses findings from a SEER database study that showed African Americans and American Indians with stage I non–small cell lung cancer were less likely to receive definitive treatment and had lower odds for survival (Abstract 9).
Richard J. Cassidy III, MD, of Emory Winship Cancer Institute, discusses results from a multicenter analysis of stereotactic body radiotherapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer in patients 80 years and older; the patients tolerated the treatment well and had excellent estimated rates of 5-year cancer-specific survival (Abstract 111).
Kamran Ahmed, MD, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, discusses results from a small study of pneumonitis in patients who received thoracic radiotherapy within 6 months of anti–PD-1 therapy, anti–PD-L1 therapy, anti–CTLA-4 therapy, or some combination of these drugs (Abstract 10).
An emerging approach for cancer treatment seeks to combine radiation therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors to more effectively control tumors in the chest with an acceptable risk of severe treatment-related side effects. About 10% of patients in a retrospective analysis of metastatic lung...
Analysis of the largest American cancer database indicates that racial disparities persist in the treatment and outcomes of patients diagnosed with stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite increased availability of potentially curative treatments for early-stage NSCLC,...
A new study offers hope for patients with recurrent lung cancer, who historically have been considered ineligible for curative treatment. In the largest analysis to date of reirradiation using intensity-modulated proton therapy for lung and other thoracic tumors, more than three-fourths of patients ...
The genetic mutations underlying treatment resistance in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are more complex and dynamic than previously thought. Analysis of 355 biopsied tumors from patients who acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, the most common form...
Results from a prospective clinical trial showed that a blood test looking at specific biomarkers was able to detect recurrences of lung cancer an average of 6 months before conventional imaging methods found evidence of recurrence. In the largest prospective clinical trial to date of circulating...
In the UK phase III LUNGSTAR study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Seckl et al found that adding pravastatin to first-line standard chemotherapy did not improve overall survival in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Numerous large prospective cohort and registry studies...
A new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC– James) has identified a mechanism by which cancer cells develop resistance to a class of drugs called fibroblast growth...
In the phase II extension component of the phase I/II AURA trial, reported by Yang et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, osimertinib (Tagrisso) was found to be highly active in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor–pretreated T790M-positive advanced...
Immunotherapy has been a major advance in lung cancer, but it is not without its challenges, according to Sanjay Popat, PhD, FRCP, a consultant medical oncologist and reader in cancer medicine at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK. He reviewed some of the challenges pertaining to the use of...
“With the negative results of this phase III trial and the discontinuation of ganetespib development, is this the end for this once promising drug class in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), or is there still an opportunity for heat shock protein (Hsp) inhibitors to make a meaningful impact?”...
Despite positive results in the phase II GALAXY-1 study, the addition of ganetespib to docetaxel in the phase III GALAXY-2 study did not improve overall survival or progression-free survival in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data presented by Rathi Pillai,...
To summarize the lessons learned from the development of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted therapy, one only has to go back about 10 years, according to Frances A. Shepherd, MD, Scott Taylor Chair in Lung Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Professor of Medicine at ...
Three invited discussants explored the results of these recent immunotherapy studies in lung cancer as well as their potential clinical implications at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 17th World Conference on Lung Cancer. KEYNOTE-021 trial “Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is...
Combining immunotherapies with each other or with other agents such as chemotherapy and growth factor inhibitors holds promise for better tapping their benefit in patients with lung cancer, data from several studies suggest. Results show that strategic combinations can achieve higher response...
In a study reported at the 2017 Quality Care Symposium by Zheng et al (Abstract 3) and published in the Journal of Oncology Practice by Jackman et al, researchers explored the use of clinical pathways to support clinical decision-making and manage resources for patients with late-stage...
Thomas J. Smith, MD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, summarizes two papers for which he was a discussant: reducing overuse of colony-stimulating factors without compromising the safety of patients with lung cancer receiving chemotherapy, and a cost-and-survival analysis before and after implementing Dana-Farber Clinical Pathways for patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (Abstracts 3, 52).
Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, of the Yale Cancer Center, discusses immunotherapy as a standard of care in lung cancer, critical biomarkers, and scientifically guided combination treatment, which will be the future of lung cancer immunotherapy.
Limo Chen, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses co-inhibition of CD38 and PD-L1, which leads to improved antitumor immune response, reducing tumor growth and metastasis. (Abstract 79)
The AURA3 study—reported by Mok and colleagues and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—confirms the dramatic activity of osimertinib (Tagrisso) in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and acquired resistance to prior EGFR...
In the phase III AURA3 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Tony S. Mok, MD, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues, osimertinib (Tagrisso) significantly improved progression-free survival vs platinum/pemetrexed (Alimta) among patients with epidermal growth...
This CE/CME/CU-accredited supplement is jointly provided by: To earn credit/contact hours, you must read all the articles in this supplement and then go to https://education.annenberg.net/IASLC Release date: February 25, 2017 Expiration date: February 25, 2018Annenberg Center for Health...
Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression assessed by immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissues is currently the main predictive biomarker for the benefit of anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and anti–PD-L1 agents in patients with non–small cell lung ...
A revised tumor classification based on 70,967 evaluable patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 6,189 patients with small cell lung cancer is now available to lung cancer specialists around the world in the form of the 8th edition of the tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM)...