Biomarker-Driven Lung Cancer

Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, discusses how his institution has changed vastly over the last few years, with an increasing number of clinical trials available for patients with lung cancer and other cancers. Clinical trials are often the best option for cancers where the outcomes with conventional treatments may be uncertain, Neel says.

Crizotinib has been granted a breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer with MET exon 14 alterations who progress after receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. Additionally, the kinase inhibitor was granted a designation for use patients with relapsed/refractory ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Following a planned interim analysis, 2 early-phase clinical trials exploring daratumumab in combination with either a PD-1 inhibitor for multiple myeloma or a PD-L1 inhibitor for non–small cell lung cancer have been terminated, according to a statement from Genmab, the company codeveloping daratumumab with Janssen.

Treatment Considerations for Unresectable Locally Advanced NSCLC

Despite recommendations from the United States Preventative Services Task Force, 1.9% of the 7.6 million current and former heavy smokers underwent cancer screening in 2016, suggesting screening is still inadequate. These results were presented ahead of the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting being held in Chicago, Illinois on June 1-5, 2018.

According to findings&nbsp;released ahead of the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) for patients with&nbsp;metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can save&nbsp;Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) payers $1.4 million to $2.1 million. The findings additionally showed that NGS saved commercial insurance providers more than $250,000.<br /> &nbsp;

Frontline Treatment Strategies in EGFR-Mutant NSCLC

Ben Levy, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer. Levy, clinical director of Medical Oncology, John Hopkins Sydney Kimmel Center, Washington, DC, explained his treatment decisions based on a case scenario during a <em>Targeted Oncology</em> live case-based peer perspectives presentation.

Chyke Doubeni, MD, chair of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Debra P. Ritzwoller, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente, have been chosen to codirect the new Center for Research to Optimize Precision Lung Cancer Screening.

Based on findings from the phase III IMpower150 trial, a supplemental biologics license application for atezolizumab has been granted a priority review by the FDA&nbsp;for use in combination with bevacizumab, carboplatin, and paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.