Lung Cancer

The treatment landscape for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poised to undergo dramatic changes, as novel immunotherapies, second-generation targeted therapies, and new maintenance strategies continue to show promise in clinical trials.

The PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab and the second-generation ALK inhibitor alectinib have each gained their first approvals as treatments for patients in Japan.

Abraham Chachoua, MD, The Jay and Isabel Fine Associate Professor of Oncology, NYU Langone Medical Center, associate director, Cancer Services, Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, discusses ongoing clinical trials at NYU that are evaluating immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer.

Susan Galbraith, MD, PhD, head, Oncology Innovative Medicine, AstraZeneca, discusses the development of AZD9291 for lung cancer.

Treatment with enobosarm demonstrated an increase in lean body mass compared with a decline with placebo in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Alex Molasiotis, RN, PhD, discusses the results of a pilot feasibility study looking at inspiratory muscle training for the management of breathlessness in patients with lung cancer.

A recent report on the health consequences of smoking pored through the most recent data and several new findings about smoking and cancer.

Lecia V. Sequist, MD, medical oncologist, associate professor, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, discusses the efficacy of CO-1686 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

The FDA has issued a drug safety communication regarding the risk of intoxication with the intravenous ethanol-containing chemotherapy docetaxel.

Lecia V. Sequist, MD, medical oncologist, associate professor, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, discusses adverse events (AEs) associated with CO-1686 for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Edward S. Kim, MD, chairman, Solid Tumor Oncology and Investigational Therapeutics, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, discusses the use of improved and complete enrichment co-amplification at lower denaturation temperature method for the detection of EGFR and KRAS mutations from cell-free plasma DNA of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Bilal Piperdi, MD, discusses an analysis presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting that looked at RICTOR amplification to define a subset of patients with lung cancer.

Continuing EGFR inhibition beyond progression with afatinib plus paclitaxel significantly improved PFS and ORR compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with heavily pretreated metastatic NSCLC.

The anti-PD-1 humanized antibody pembrolizumab has robust antitumor activity as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced PD-L1-positive NSCLC.

Adding necitumumab to standard of care with gemcitabine-cisplatin significantly improves survival compared with chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment in patients with stage IV non–small-cell lung cancer of squamous histology.

Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, a professor of medical oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, discusses the results of the phase III REVEL study in NSCLC.

Walter J. Curran, Jr, MD, discusses a report that examined the effect of institutional clinical trial enrollment volume on survival of patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with chemoradiation.

David Spigel, MD, director of Lung Cancer Research at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses current trials involving MPDL3280A in lung cancer.

The third-generation EGFR inhibitor CO-1686 continues to demonstrate promising activity in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who developed resistance after prior treatment with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).

Naiyer A. Rizvi, MD, an associate attending physician, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the safety and response with plus erlotinib in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutant (EGFR MT) advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Adding the VEGFR-2 inhibitor ramucirumab to standard docetaxel improved overall survival by 1.4 months versus docetaxel alone in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer.

The ballots are in, and 16 leading researchers whose discoveries have propelled the field of cancer treatment forward will be honored during the 2014 Giants of Cancer Care award ceremony on May 30 at Riva Restaurant on Navy Pier in Chicago.

CO-1686 has received a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for its potential as a treatment for patients with metastatic T790M mutation-positive NSCLC who have received at least one prior line of EGFR-targeted therapy.

In December 2013, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that asymptomatic, high-risk individuals receive annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT).

The highly selective EGFR inhibitor AZD9291 demonstrated an overall response rate of 64% without inducing dose-limiting toxicities in patients with metastatic NSCLC who harbor an acquired EGFR T790M resistance mutation.

The MEDCAC ruling will likely lead to non-coverage of lung cancer screening with low dose CT scans for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Leading experts in the rapidly evolving field of lung cancer treatment assembled to offer their perspectives on the latest research and provide clinical insights for practitioners dealing with challenging cases.

The pathologic analysis of lung cancer has become increasingly complex, calling for continued attention to improving the accuracy of the assessment and reducing the amount of tissue required.