Lung Cancer

A four-drug combination, including Tecentriq (atezolizumab), Avastin (bevacizumab), carboplatin and paclitaxel, delayed progression or death by 38 percent in patients with advanced non-squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), compared to those who were treated with Avastin alone.

Although ROS1 mutations are quite rare in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), testing for the mutation in all who have the disease is important, as it can play a vital role in determining a treatment plan.

Imfinzi (durvalumab), a PD-L1 inhibitor, is being reviewed for a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with stage 3, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The sBLA is in light of positive progression-free survival (PFS) results from the phase 3 PACIFIC trial.

Frontline Tagrisso (osimertinib) was granted a priority review to a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have EGFR mutations (exon 19 deletions or exon 21 [L858R] substitution mutations).

There has been a “renaissance” in the treatment strategies of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have EGFR-mutation–positive disease, Edward S. Kim, M.D.

Alecensa (alectinib) was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with ALK-positive metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Genentech (Roche), the manufacturer of the second-generation ALK inhibitor.

More patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) should be evaluated and referred to clinical trials, especially those who may have molecular abnormalities, says Victoria M. Villaflor, M.D.

Sometimes patients with cancer need to adjust their thinking to change how they view their disease

Question: When do cancer scans shift from disease monitoring to routine checkups? Answer: You decide.

The approval is based on data from the phase 3 CheckMate-057 trial, in which second-line Opdivo reduced the risk of death by 28 percent versus docetaxel in patients with nonsquamous NSCLC.

The PD-1 inhibitor was approved along with a companion diagnostic, the PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx test, and is indicated for patients who progressed on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy or EGFR- or ALK-targeted agents in patients harboring those mutations.

Carolyn Presley discusses the implications of screening on diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

Carolyn Presley, clinical fellow, geriatric oncology, Yale Cancer Center, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, discusses a study looking at the burden of health care on patients undergoing curative lung cancer care.

The stage 4 lung cancer life twists and turns down a bumpy road, but it is a road that I am lucky enough to still be traveling.

To gain a patient's perspective on the Genomics of Young Lung Cancer Study and the importance of genomic testing, we spoke with Corey Wood, a 23-year-old trial participant and lung cancer survivor.