LUNG CANCER

Promising early phase clinical trials have led to the initiation of the phase III JUNIPER trial, which is assessing abemaciclib (LY2835219) for patients with previously treated KRAS-mutant lung cancer, a traditionally hard to treat genetic subtype.

Treatment with gefitinib (Iressa) failed to show noninferiority compared with erlotinib (Tarceva) for patients with pretreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Thomas Stinchcombe, MD, discusses the complicated nature of squamous cell lung cancer. Stinchcombe says that there has been a recent boom in targeted therapies for non-squamous cell lung cancer, though not as much research in squamous cell lung cancer due to its multitude of mutations.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Sarah Goldberg, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center, discussed the efficacy of immunotherapies, PD-L1 as a biomarker, and how these therapies will continue to alter the treatment of patients with lung cancer.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Edward Kim, MD, discussed the FDA-approved immunotherapies nivolumab and pembrolizumab along with potential combinations, biomarkers, and ongoing research.

Christina Baik, MD, MPH, assistant professor, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Thoracic/Head and Neck, Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Washington, discusses the efficacy of alectinib after first-line crizotinib in patients with ALK-positive lung cancer. Baik says alectinib generally works for about 8 months and is easy to take for patients.

The combination of the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab and the CTLA-4 inhibitor tremelimumab, showed antitumor activity in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), irrespective of PD-L1 status, according to a recent phase Ib study published in The Lancet Oncology.

Edward Kim, MD, chair of the department of Solid Tumor Oncology, Levine Cancer Institute, discusses the further work that needs to be done when indicating patient populations with certain biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Sarah Goldberg, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center, discusses coming trials looking at immunotherapy beyond the second-line setting in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Molecular Diagnostics in NSCLC with David Berz, MD, PhD, and Philip Bonomi, MD

Crizotinib (Xalkori) has been approved by the FDA for patients with ROS1-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), based on substantial efficacy displayed in a phase I study.

A supplemental new drug application for pembrolizumab for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with PD-L1 expression on ≥1% of tumors cells has been submitted to the FDA.

In this article, Priyanka Bhateja, MD, and Neelesh Sharma, MD, PhD review the completed trials and ongoing clinical development of pembrolizumab in NSCLC.

Tremelimumab as a monotherapy in both the second- and third-line treatment failed to boost overall survival (OS) compared with placebo for patients with unresectable malignant mesothelioma.

Sharpe, whose lab aided in the discover of the pathway, says blocking the pathway in order to treat cancers is important because it allows T cells to work better.

Everolimus (Afinitor) has received FDA approval for adult patients with progressive, well-differentiated non-functional, locally advanced or metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) or lung neuroendocrine tumors (NET), based on findings from the phase III RADIANT-4 trial.

In the study, the bavituximab combination showed OS data similar to expectations while patients in the docetaxel-alone arm "dramatically outperformed OS expectations," according to Peregrine Pharmaceuticals.

Despite its initial running start, the continuing development of immunotherapies in the field of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) won't be slowing down anytime soon, according to Naiyer Rizvi, MD.

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer receiving the combination checkpoint blockade with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab and the anti-CTLA-4 agent tremelimumab had a response rate of 23%, according to phase Ib data from Study 006.

The FDA has scheduled an Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) advisory hearing for April 12 to review the new drug application for rociletinib, a treatment for metastatic EGFR T790-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.