Biomarker-Driven Lung Cancer

The FDA has approved the pan-HER inhibitor afatinib (Gilotrif), along with a companion diagnostic, to treat patients with metastatic NSCLC who express specific types of EGFR mutations.

Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, from the Winship Cancer Institute, discusses the investigation of the heat shock protein 90 inhibitor ganetespib as a treatment for patients with advanced lung cancer.

The next-generation PI3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor GDC-0032 has shown signs of efficacy in patients with advanced cancers that were mutated for the PI3K alpha gene.

The second-generation TKI dacomitinib, designed to treat NSCLC, is being evaluated in a clinical trial that will measure the drug’s effectiveness as a first-line treatment.

Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, describes a trial comparing crizotinib and chemotherapy in patients with advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, comments on the emergence of immunotherapies for multiple types of cancer including MPDL3280A for non-small cell lung cancer.

Crizotinib demonstrated superiority to chemotherapy for the treatment of previously treated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ALK rearrangement in a trial published online by The New England Journal of Medicine.

Although biomarkers have been shown to correlate with survival in prostate cancer, the use of biomarkers in the management of these patients may be dependent upon the clinical state and the class of drug evaluated.

Monica Fradkin, RN, BSN, MPH, OCN, Oncology Nursing Education Coordinator, Yale School of Nursing, Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, discusses treating patients with chemotherapy and biotherapy.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common acute form of leukemia in adults, is potentially driven by at least one genetic mutation in nearly all cases.

So far, there are no conclusive biomarkers to help identify subsets of patients who would benefit from antiangiogenic therapies, creating a barrier to the use of such treatments, Rugo said in her MBCC abstract.

Emanuel F. Petricoin III, PhD, Co-Director, Center for Applied Proteomics & Molecular Medicine, Professor of Life Sciences, George Mason University, discusses the use of the reverse phase protein microarray (RPPA).