Biomarker-Driven Lung Cancer

The FDA recently released 5 new draft guidance documents that promote broader patient eligibility for cancer clinical trials. The policies encourage inclusion of certain individuals who were previously disqualified due to medical conditions or biological factors, including brain metastases, organ dysfunction, prior or concurrent malignancies, chronic infections, and age.

Two abstracts presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting analyzed potential combinations with osimertinib (Tagrisso), a third-generation EGFR TKI, with additional agents to potentially overcome resistance mutations following progression in patients with <em>EGFR</em>-mutant NSCLC.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Kazuhiko Nakagawa, MD, PhD discussed the findings from the RELAY trial for the combination of ramucirumab plus erlotinib compared to erlotinib plus placebo. He suggested that these data could be practice-changing for the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-positive NSCLC.<br /> &nbsp;

Kartik Konduri, MD, discussed with a group of physicians in a recent&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation the diagnostic workup and treatment considerations he makes when he sees a patient with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer in the clinic. Konduri explained his treatment decision making based on the case scenario of a patient with locally advanced NSCLC.&nbsp;

A cohort of cancer centers was selected to serve as models for identifying key strategies for racial and ethnic minority group engagement in clinical trials. On the basis of several qualifying criteria, such as sustained accrual of minorities into clinical cancer research, an established minority population &ge;10% in the overall catchment, an established clinical trial infrastructure, and a formal community outreach program, the investigators identified 8 cancer centers for participation.

In a case-based-style discussion, Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, and Wells Messersmith, MD, reviewed the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer whose tumors express rare gene mutations or molecular signatures, such as <em>NTRK</em> fusions.

<em>Targeted Oncology</em>&nbsp;spoke with experts in attendance at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting to review what they believed were some of the biggest takeaways from this year&#39;s presentation across the fields of lung cancer, breast cancer, GI cancers, genitourinary cancers, melanoma, and multiple myeloma.