Dr. Kim on Combination Therapies in Lung Cancer

Edward S. Kim, MD, chair, Solid Tumor Oncology and Investigational Therapeutics, Donald S. Kim Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, discusses combination therapies in the treatment of patients with lung cancer.

Kim expresses a genuine curiosity in observing how results will pan out over the next several years in multiple ongoing studies examining combination therapies in lung cancer. His only bias, he says, may lie in a preference for non-cytotoxic regimens.

Specifically, patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutations have seen substantial benefits in their treatment regimens. Moreover, the very fact that patients with stage IV lung cancer can be administered an oral biologic therapy for several years represents significant progress in this space, says Kim.

He goes on to say that he hopes the field of immuno-oncology will see similar steps forward. It is important, he explains, to identify strategies that include lower side effects, that effectively control tumor growth, and that are generally more tolerable and less toxic for patients.