LUNG CANCER

Marina C. Garassino, MD, medical consultant in the Medical Oncology Division, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy, discusses current advancements with immunotherapy as first- and second-line treatments for patients with lung cancer.

A novel regimen of immunotherapy, angiogenesis inhibition, and chemotherapy brings promising outcomes for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The synergic combination, notes Benjamin P. Levy, MD, would be exciting to have in the landscape.

Joshua Bauml, MD, an assistant professor at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the possibilities with using liquid biopsies in patients with lung cancer.

Updates from the KEYNOTE-189 and IMpower150 trials demonstrated the significant impact of adding immunotherapy to treatment regimens for patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS, chief of the Division of Thoracic Medical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses biomarkers that may help identify patients with lung cancer who can benefit from immunotherapy agents. Since the introduction of these agents, PD-L1 has been used as a potential biomarker for selecting patients that may benefit from treatment. As PD-L1 is not completely reliable, there is interest in developing additional biomarkers.

The primary endpoint of improving overall survival was not met in the phase III JAVELIN Lung 200 Trial of avelumab in patients with non–small cell lung cancer, according to Merck KGaA and Pfizer, the co-developers of avelumab.

Jean-Charles Soria, MD, PhD, will be honored with the Targeted Anticancer Therapies 2018 Honorary Award for cancer drug development. Soria has played a large part in cancer drug development across molecular targeted agents, precision medicine, and immunotherapy for the last 15 years.

Based on results from the phase III PACIFIC trial, durvalumab has been granted approval by the FDA for the treatment of patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer who have not progressed following chemoradiotherapy.

Ulixertinib, a novel ERK1/2 inhibitor, demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity in patients with solid tumors harboring mutations in the MAPK/ERK pathway, according to the results of a phase I study published in <em>Cancer Discovery</em>.

The day when oncologists can order a Medicare-covered next-generation sequencing diagnostic test may be near at hand, but once this change goes into effect, will oncologists be limited to certain tests, labs, and cancer settings? The answer is unclear.

The prognosis for patients with metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poor.&nbsp;However, with recent trials showing improved overall survival with checkpoint inhibitors compared with standard chemotherapy, disease management is changing.

A new drug application for lorlatinib for use in patients with&nbsp;<em>ALK</em>-positive metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer who have progressed on 1 or more ALK tyrosine kinases inhibitors has been granted a priority review by the FDA.

Based on data from part 1a of the phase III CheckMate-227 trial, nivolumab (Opdivo) and&nbsp;ipilimumab (Yervoy) in combination show improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus with chemotherapy in treatment-na&iuml;ve patients with high tumor mutation burden (TMB) non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Jhanelle E. Gray, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions she makes when treating patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, with a special focus on immunotherapy.&nbsp;Gray, associate member, Director of Thoracic Clinical Research, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, explained her treatment decisions based on 2 case scenarios during a&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>&nbsp;live case-based peer perspectives dinner.

Rapid growth continues for research surrounding combination therapies of immunotherapy with chemotherapy for patients with NSCLC.

Kathy S. Albain, MD, has been named the inaugural Huizenga Family Endowed Chair in Oncology Research at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Funded by Heidi Huizenga, one of Albain&rsquo;s beholden patients, her husband, and her family, the endowed chair recognizes Albain&rsquo;s notable contributions as a physician, research, teacher and mentor.

Benjamin P. Levy, MD, discusses&nbsp;some of the ongoing trials exploring osimertinib in NSCLC and how the FLAURA data have impacted treatment decisions.

The frontline indication for afatinib (Gilotrif) has been expanded by the FDA to include&nbsp;the treatment of patients with metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer whose tumors harbor uncommon <em>EGFR</em> alterations in L861Q, G719X, and/or S768I.

Edward B. Garon, MD, director of Thoracic Oncology at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA, discusses sequencing immunotherapy agents in advanced-stage lung cancer.<br /> &nbsp;

Improving outcomes for disadvantaged patients with lung cancer has been a priority for over 5 years at Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Paul K. Paik, MD, clinical director, Thoracic Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses recent chemotherapy and immunotherapy advances in the treatment of squamous cell lung cancer.

The MET oncogene has become a rapidly rising target for the treatment of patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Balazs Halmos, MD, MS.

H. Jack West, MD,&nbsp;thoracic oncologist, Swedish Cancer Institute at Swedish Medical Center, discusses how he treats patients with advanced lung cancer who do not have actionable oncogenic drivers.&nbsp;

The FDA closed out the year by approving several new agents last month, including bevacizumab for glioblastoma, cabozantinib for renal cell carcinoma, nivolumab for melanoma, bosutinib for chronic myeloid leukemia, and pertuzumab for HER2+ breast cancer. In addition, several agents were granted a priority review designation. Here is a look back at all the FDA activity that took place in December.

Regardless of smoking history, patients with cancer of the lung harboring specific genetic alterations who were treated with targeted therapies experienced longer survival than those patients who did not receive targeted treatment, according to results of a multi-institutional extension study&nbsp;to identify and treat oncogenic driver events.