International Lung Cancer Congress

Ignacio I. Wistuba, MD, discusses the clinical importance of histological subtyping of lung cancer and additional parameters such as driver alterations, alternative methods for molecular testing, and immunotherapy-related biomarkers have strengthened the diagnostic and treatment paradigms in lung cancer.

In non–small cell lung cancer, single cell analytics, genome editing, and next-generation animal models represent just some of the modern modalities advancing translational research.

The disease-free survival benefit observed with the third-generation EGFR TKI osimertinib as an adjuvant treatment in patients with EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer in the phase 3 ADAURA trial is striking.

Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, discusses emerging treatment approaches in ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer.

David R. Gandara, MD, discusses the utility of tumor mutational burden in non–small cell lung cancer.

Lyudmila A. Bazhenova, MD, medical oncologist, professor of clinical medicine, University of California, San Diego, discusses new developments in RET-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer.

Heather A. Wakelee, MD, professor of medicine (oncology), Stanford University Medical Center, discusses osimertinib and its role in treating patients with EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer.

With the arrival of immunotherapy to the small cell lung cancer armamentarium, combination approaches with targeted therapies are now in the pipeline to stimulate further clinical activity, such as adding PARP or CHK1 inhibitors.

The magnitude of data becoming available on immunotherapy combinations for patients with non–small cell lung cancer has made treatment selection complicated.

The early potential shown with the KRAS inhibitor AMG 510 coupled with several promising ongoing combination studies has ushered in the beginning of an exciting era for the treatment of KRAS-mutant non–small cell lung cancer.

Solange Peters, MD, PhD, of University Hospital Center Vaudois and Lausanne University in Switzerland, discusses the rapid advances in the lung cancer field and the importance of using biomarkers to create personalized immunotherapy treatments for patients.

Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS, chief of the Division of Thoracic Medical Oncology, professor of the Department of Hematology/Oncology, and co-director of the Immune Monitoring Facility at Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses recent announcements from the CheckMate-227 trial in non–small cell lung cancer.

The frontline standard of care for patients with EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer remains an EGFR TKI, most commonly osimertinib in the United States.

Checkpoint inhibitors in the neoadjuvant setting, as consolidation post-chemoradiation, or in combination with concurrent chemoradiation, are all strategies actively being pursued in the locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer setting.

The future generation of agents in lung cancer should be evaluated in improved predictive biomarker-driven trials to identify patients who are most likely to benefit or have detriment for both TKIs and checkpoint inhibitors.

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, chief of medical oncology, professor of medicine, Yale Cancer Center, Smilow Cancer Hospital, discusses combinations with immunotherapy in lung cancer.

Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS, discusses pivotal findings with the highly selective MET inhibitors, tepotinib and capmatinib in patients with MET exon 14-altered advanced non–small cell lung cancer.

There is a growing need to share information across research settings and the community, with the rapid introduction of new biomarkers, cancer detection strategies, immunotherapies, and targeted therapies. This synchronization of system biology tool datasets could help create a new digital ecosystem focused on precision medicine.

Paul A. Bunn Jr, MD, highlights the benefits of preoperative window-of-opportunity studies, specifically with immunotherapy in lung cancer.

Optimizing the methods for preclinical research with an emphasis on patient-derived models, may help speed up the translation of new treatment advances from the laboratory to the clinic.

As the checkpoint inhibitors move into the frontline setting for patients with non–small cell lung cancer, the focus has been placed on the duration of therapy and what to do in the second-line setting following progression.

Recent positive clinical trial data have provided the oncology community with several sequencing strategies for patients with EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer.

RET is set to join the list of ever-expanding actionable driver mutations for non–small cell lung cancer, as there are now 3 highly effective therapies in development.

The use of frontline versus second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor use is controversial in many oncogene-driven non-small cell lung cancers.

Heather Wakelee, MD, associate professor of medicine (oncology) at the Stanford University Medical Center, discussed the latest therapeutic developments in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer.

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine and professor of pharmacology, chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital; associate director for Translational Research, Yale Cancer Center; Disease Aligned Research Team (DART) Leader, Thoracic Oncology Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses immunotherapy combinations that have potential in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Vassiliki A. Papadimitrakopoulou, MD, shares insight on how the lung cancer paradigm continues to evolve with the identification of targetable driver mutations, the challenges that remain, and the ongoing clinical trial efforts designed to better reach patients and improve their outcomes.

Checkpoint inhibition following chemoradiation has shown remarkable successes for patients with locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer, after more than 2 decades without major advances.

The past year has witnessed an explosion in immunotherapy combinations for patients with lung cancer, accompanied by a growing knowledge of biomarkers such as PD-L1 and tumor mutation burden; however, an exact standard of care remains elusive.

Paul A. Bunn Jr, MD, distinguished professor, Division of Medical Oncology/University of Colorado, James Dudley Chair in Lung Cancer Research, University of Colorado Denver, 2014 Giant of Cancer Care