Biomarker-Driven Lung Cancer

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has been selected as the site for one of two new Genome Characterization Centers (GCCs) funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute of Health (HHSN261200800001E).

Breakthrough therapy designation has been granted by the US Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) to the combination of the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and the MEK inhibitor trametinib (Mekinist) as treatment for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant non–small cell lung cancer

Clovis Oncology has initiated the rolling submission process for rociletinib in EGFR T790M-positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer following prior treatment with a TKI.

Low expression of the genes ERCC1 and TS was associated with substantial improvements in overall survival following front-line treatment with an oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy regimen for patient with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Jennifer S. Temel, clinical director, Thoracic Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses a phase III study that examined the impact of anamorelin in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and cachexia.

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine (medical oncology), professor of Pharmacology, chief, Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, associate director, Translational Research, Translational Working Group Leader, Thoracic Oncology Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses the results of the CheckMate-057 trial, which examined nivolumab in patients with NSCLC, and possible biomarkers that could be identified.

Researchers at the Wistar Institute Cancer Center have discovered a new potential circulating biomarker for non–small cell lung cancer. It is a cancer testis antigen expressed by a cancer/testis gene called AKAP4. The exciting prospect this heralds is the development of an accurate, quick blood test for early-stage NSCLC.

The next-generation ALK inhibitor alectinib has demonstrated robust objective response rates (ORR) in patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer, including those with central nervous system metastases.

The glycoprotein CD31 was associated with improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival for patients with advanced ovarian cancer treated with frontline bevacizumab.

An immunotherapy combination demonstrated an overall response rate of 27% in previously treated non–small cell lung cancer across a range of doses, according to results of an ongoing phase Ib study.

The FDA has granted a priority review to pembrolizumab as a potential treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer following treatment with chemotherapy or a targeted therapy, if applicable.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) improved overall survival and was less toxic compared with docetaxel in chemotherapy-pretreated patients with nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer.

MPDL3280A reduced the risk of death by 53% compared with docetaxel in previously treated patients with PD-L1-positive squamous and non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

D. Ross Camidge, MD, director, Thoracic Oncology Clinical Program, program director, Thoracic Oncology Clinical and Translational Research Fellowship, University of Colorado Denver, discusses MET as a secondary driver in lung cancer.

Edward S. Kim, MD, chairman, Solid Tumor Oncology and Investigational Therapeutics, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, discusses combining bevacizumab with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in the treatment of lung cancer.

John Heymach, MD, PhD, chair of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the characteristics of three more KRAS subsets in lung cancer, which researchers discovered in a recent study.

Leaders of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in Buffalo, New York, have agreed to collaborate with the Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Cuba to evaluate a therapeutic anticancer vaccine for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the United States.

The third-generation EGFR inhibitor rociletinib demonstrated promising responses in patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer with or without the acquired resistance mutation T790M.

Despite their promise, checkpoint inhibitors are not effective in every patient, and research suggests the STING (stimulator of interferon genes) pathway may hold important clues as to why some tumors fail to respond.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) achieved an overall response rate (ORR) of 45.2% among a cohort of patients with high PD-L1-expressing non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the phase I KEYNOTE-001 trial.

The availability of mutation-specific treatments and an increasing understanding of potential resistance mechanisms have provided immense opportunities for research and development of new therapies in lung cancer.

Thomas J. Lynch, MD, discusses the treatment of patients with T790M-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The standard of care for advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) includes platinumbased chemotherapy.

In a wide-ranging interview, Thomas Lynch, MD, provides expert insight across the spectrum of care, from screening to the challenges associated with resistance mutations.

Prior cancer history should not exclude patients with advanced lung cancer from participating in clinical trials because it does not impact outcomes, according to a study.