Video

Sangeetha Palakurthi on FDA Approval of Atezolizumab in NSCLC

Sangeetha Palakurthi, PhD, head of the Cancer Biology and Pharmacology Group at the Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the FDA approval of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for the treatment of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Sangeetha Palakurthi, PhD, head of the Cancer Biology and Pharmacology Group at the Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the FDA approval of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for the treatment of patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The approval is based on multiple clinical trials, the largest being the phase III OAK trial, which was presented at the 2016 ESMO Congress. In the study, atezolizumab reduced the risk of death by 26% compared with docetaxel in patients with advanced NSCLC following the failure of platinum-based chemotherapy. The median overall survival was improved by 4.2 months with the PD-L1 inhibitor versus chemotherapy. The survival benefit with atezolizumab was observed regardless of PD-L1 status or histology.

Related Videos
James J. Harding, MD, associate attending physician, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
J. Bradley Elder, MD
Rimas V. Lukas, MD
Adam E. Singer, MD, PhD, Health Sciences Clinical Instructor, medicine, division lead, kidney cancer, Division of Hematology/Oncology, UCLA Health
Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, vice chair, Oncology Operations, Regional Care Network, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Shubham Pant, MD, MBBS
Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS, professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, director, Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine; Louisa and Rand Glenn Family Chair in Breast Cancer Research, director, Glenn Family Breast Center, director, Breast Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Brett L. Ecker, MD
Benjamin Garmezy, MD, assistant director, Genitourinary Research, Sarah Cannon Research Institute
Yelena Y. Janjigian, MD, chief, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center