Dr. Stevenson on Ongoing Research Efforts in ES-SCLC

James Stevenson, MD, medical oncologist and hematologist, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, discusses ongoing research efforts that are generating excitement in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).

Standard-of-care treatment for ES-SCLC has evolved in recent years with the introduction of novel approaches; however, even with immunotherapy, these patients still experience a poor prognosis, according to Stevenson. Efforts are underway to improve outcomes for these patients as they have for those with non–small cell lung cancer, where longer durations of response are achieved with maintenance immunotherapy, Stevenson adds.

The phase 2/3 RAPTOR trial (NCT04402788) will examine consolidation radiotherapy to the thorax and other sites of oligometastatic disease following initial chemoimmunotherapy, just as maintenance immunotherapy is initiated, Stevenson says. Participants will be randomized to either receive radiotherapy or not.

Local recurrences, especially in the chest, can be problematic in SCLC, and earlier studies examining thoracic consolidation radiotherapy have yielded promising results. As such, the results from RAPTOR are anticipated, Stevenson concludes.