Dr. Garon on Future of Immunotherapy in NSCLC

Edward B. Garon, MD, director of Thoracic Oncology at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of California, Los Angeles, discusses the future of immunotherapy in the paradigm of non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

On the optimistic side, Garon says researchers could see that the understanding of the immune system has greatly enhanced, and that they are able to devise combination regimens associated with greater efficacy while minimizing toxicity. Additionally, more patient subsets would be identified who will benefit from various immune-oncology—based approaches.

From a negative perspective, regarding the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor experience, researchers could look 5 years down the road, similar to data with erlotinib (Tarceva), and determine it was not very promising. As a field, oncologists need to be prepared for both these positive and negative possibilties, Garon concludes.