Dr. Neal on Exciting Advancements in the Field of Lung Cancer

Joel Neal, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine (Oncology), Stanford University Medical Center, discusses exciting advancements in the field of lung cancer over the past few years. Neal shared these insights during an interview at the 2016 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Symposium on Thoracic Oncology.

Immunotherapy has had a significant role in propelling the field forward, Neal explains. While patient selection is improving, researchers still need to actively explore who is not appropriate to receive these therapies. Additional questions revolve around who should receive immunotherapy in first-line, as well as in second- and third-line settings.

Targeted therapies are also making an impact, Neal says. For patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer, the T790M-targeted agent is osimertinib (Tagrisso). Testing for this resistance mutation has also become an important topic in the field. For ALK-positive patients, alectinib (Alecensa) could be a promising agent—potentially in the frontline setting, he adds.