Lung Cancer

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental biologics license application for durvalumab (Imfinzi) for the treatment of patients with stage III, unresectable NSCLC.

Second-generation EGFR inhibitor dacomitinib showed clear superiority over first-generation TKI gefitinib (Iressa) in a comparison of performance in EGFR mutation subtypes exon 19 deletion and L858R in advanced NSCLC.

Ramucirumab (Cyramza) plus docetaxel demonstrated an overall survival benefit versus placebo plus docetaxel in patients with advanced NSCLC whose disease rapidly progressed on first-line therapy,

David R. Gandara, MD, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, professor, senior advisor to director, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the significance of the phase III FLAURA trial of first-line osimertinib (Tagrisso) in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, a professor of medical oncology at the University of Colorado, discusses the results of the ALTA trial, which is exploring brigatinib (Alunbrig) in patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

A lower dose of ceritinib taken with a low-fat meal showed similar efficacy with fewer dose reductions and less severe gastrointestinal adverse events versus a 750-mg dose taken without food for patients with untreated ALK-positive metastatic non­–small cell lung cancer.

In addition to proving the superiority of alectinib versus crizotinib, the phase III ALEX trial provided clear guidance on which of 2 assays evaluated could provide stronger guidance on which patients would respond to ALK-specific therapy.

Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, provides highlights of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer, leading with his excitement for updated quality-of-life data from the PACIFIC trial of patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer.

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of alectinib for the first-line treatment of adults with ALK-positive, advanced non–small cell lung cancer.

Lawrence E. Feldman, MD, discusses first- and second-line therapy with checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC, and the promise that emerging combinations could have on the field.

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental new drug application for afatinib for the frontline treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors harbor EGFR exon 21 (L861Q), G719X, or S768I substitution mutations.

In topline results from the phase III JUNIPER trial, abemaciclib failed to meet its primary endpoint of improving overall survival versus erlotinib in patients with KRAS-mutated, advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy.

The FDA has awarded Breakthrough Therapy Designation to osimertinib for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Thomas A. Hensing, MD, co-director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at NorthShore University HealthSystem, discusses prospective studies in stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Philip D. Bonomi, MD, The Alice Pirie Wirtz Professor of Medical Oncology, Rush Medical College, medical oncologist, Rush University Medical Center, discusses PD-L1 as a biomarker in non-small cell lung cancer.

Thomas A. Hensing, MD, discussed that modern technology and novel therapeutics must be managed by a multidisciplinary team to achieve optimal outcome for patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Victoria Villaflor, MD, associate professor of medicine, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses alectinib (Alecensa) in patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer.

Martin Forster, MD, medical oncologist, University College London Hospitals, discusses the ATLANTIS study in small-cell lung cancer.

Jyoti Patel, MD, professor of medicine, director, Thoracic Oncology, University of Chicago School of Medicine, discusses checkpoint blockade in non–small cell lung cancer.

Jyoti D. Patel, MD, discusses ongoing research investigating immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy for patients with NSCLC.

Philip D. Bonomi, MD, discusses some of the known biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the utilization of PD-L1, and other testing modalities.