Dr. Spigel Discusses Advances in Early-Stage Lung Cancer

David Spigel, MD, chief scientific officer, director, Lung Cancer Research Program, principal investigator, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses advances in early-stage lung cancer treatment.

Historically, treatment options were limited for patients with early-stage lung cancer, says Spigel. For example, adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, which was introduced 12 to 15 years ago, was met with some resistance with regard to its value for patients. Since then, few advances have been made in the space. As such, it is exciting to see novel treatment approaches making their way into the early-stage setting, Spigel says.

Immunotherapy changed the treatment landscape of stage III lung cancer, says Spigel. As such, the use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant immunotherapy continues to garner significant attention in ongoing research efforts. Finally, therapies targeted toward oncogenic drivers, such as EGFR mutations, are emerging in early-stage disease. For example, in December 2020, the FDA approved adjuvant osimertinib (Tagrisso) for use as adjuvant treatment following tumor resection in patients with EGFR-positive non–small cell lung cancer, concludes Spigel.