Lung Cancer

James G. Herman, MD, discusses the work that has been done to elucidate biomarkers of response to immunotherapy in non–small cell lung cancer and the necessity of molecular testing at diagnosis.

Anna Chalmers, MD, discusses the PACIFIC trial and how its impact continues to change the treatment paradigm in stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Katie Kerrigan, MD, a hematology/oncology fellow at Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, discusses the design and findings of the ongoing phase I PROFILE 1001 trial with crizotinib (Xalkori) in ROS1-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Faculty from Huntsman Cancer Institute and Intermountain Healthcare delve into the interesting research efforts being made at their respective institutions.

Lisa A. Cannon-Albright, PhD, discusses her research regarding the heredity of lung cancer, histologic subgroups at increased risk, and the implications these data have on practice.

Edward S. Kim, MD, chair, Department of Solid Tumor Oncology, Levine Cancer Institute, discusses the randomized, double-blind, phase III KEYNOTE-189 trial in patients with previously untreated, metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer.

Kristen Champion, PhD, FACMG, discusses various molecular testing methods being used in non–small cell lung cancer.

Shiven B. Patel, MD, MBA, FACP, provides insight into key trials in squamous non–small cell lung cancer and how to apply the data to practice.

William T. Sause, MD, discusses various modalities of stage III non–small cell lung cancer treatment and how to effectively select patients for the varying regimens.

Clarke A. Low, MD, discusses the role of osimertinib in EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer and emerging research efforts in the paradigm.

Katie Kerrigan, MD, discusses novel agents emerging in both ROS1- and ALK-mutated non–small cell lung cancer and the sequencing challenges for these patients.

Wallace L. Akerley, MD, discusses targeted approaches for patients with non-small cell lung cancer who harbor alterations in MET, RET, and HER2, as well as the importance of broad molecular profiling.

Investigators are starting to make headway in their quest to develop therapies that counteract oncogenic mutations in the KRAS gene, a high-priority target in precision medicine that has long been deemed “undruggable.”

The combination of ramucirumab and erlotinib demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival versus erlotinib alone in treatment-naïve patients with EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer, according to results of the phase III RELAY trial that have now been published in The Lancet Oncology.

Evidence is increasing that blood-based biomarkers have predictive utility in advanced non–small cell lung cancer. Going further, blood-based next-generation sequencing appears to have clinical utility in selecting targeted treatment in this setting.

For nearly a decade, immunotherapy and molecularly targeted agents have been the focus of intense development. Now emerging evidence suggests that both modalities can deliver long-term benefits for patients, but the findings may prompt additional questions of how best to fit these transformative therapies into treatment landscapes.