Top 5 Lung Cancer Stories of 2025: Research, Treatments and Patient Journeys

Lung cancer research and patient experiences made headlines in 2025, from surgical advances and targeted therapies to personal stories that challenge who is at risk.

FDA Grants Fast Track Status to Tumor-Targeted Imaging Agent in Lung Cancer Surgery

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted fast track designation to abenacianine, an investigational fluorescent imaging agent designed to help surgeons see lung tumors in real time during surgery, according to Vergent Bioscience.

Abenacianine is intended to improve visualization of primary lung cancer, pulmonary lesions, cancer-containing lymph nodes, and positive surgical margins, particularly during minimally invasive and robotic-assisted procedures. In a phase 2 trial, 43% of patients experienced at least one clinically significant event, such as detection of hard-to-find tumors or positive margins that may have been missed using standard techniques. The drug was safe and well tolerated, successfully labeling both primary and metastatic tumors.

“Receiving fast track designation from the FDA reinforces the potential of abenacianine to address existing deficits in lung cancer surgery by helping surgeons better visualize tumors in the lung during minimally invasive surgical procedures,” said Dr. John Santini, president and chief executive officer at Vergent Bioscience. “We look forward to collaborating with the FDA to make abenacianine available to surgeons and their patients as quickly as possible.

A Stage 4 Lung Cancer Diagnosis Changed Everything for This Nonsmoker

After being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in the summer of 2020, a nonsmoker who never expected to face the disease describes how treatment, mental health support and advocacy reshaped her life and perspective.

She underwent chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, three clinical trials and a double lung transplant performed as part of a clinical study. Although her cancer later returned and spread to her spine, she continues treatment and advocacy, emphasizing that anyone with lungs can develop lung cancer, not just smokers.

Adjuvant Alecensa Shows High Survival Rates in Early Stage ALK-Positive Lung Cancer

Adjuvant treatment with Alecensa (alectinib) led to a four-year overall survival rate of 98.4% in patients with resected ALK-positive early stage non–small cell lung cancer, according to updated results from the phase 3 ALINA trial presented at the 2025 ESMO Congress.

Patients who received Alecensa after surgery experienced significantly longer disease-free survival compared with those who received chemotherapy, with a 65% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death. The four-year disease-free survival rate was 75.5% with Alecensa versus 47% with chemotherapy, and central nervous system recurrence was also reduced. Overall survival data favored Alecensa despite many patients in the chemotherapy arm receiving ALK inhibitors after recurrence.

“This is a lung cancer session which we hoped for so many years. This is due to the activity of Alecensa and also activity of ALK inhibitors in post-chemotherapy setting in those patients who relapsed,” said lead investigator Dr. Rafal Dziadziuszko.

“Alecensa continues to demonstrate a robust and durable disease-free survival benefit over chemotherapy,” said Dr. Marcello Tiseo. “Overall survival data are still immature but the magnitude and durability of DFS improvement coupled with a well-tolerated safety profile reinforce Alecensa as a standard of care for resected ALK-positive NSCLC.”

‘Weird and Wacky’ Targets Could Expand Precision Therapy in Lung Cancer

New and unconventional targets in lung cancer may offer future treatment options for patients who do not benefit from current precision therapies, according to Dr. Benjamin Herzberg, who spoke at the CURE Educated Patient® Lung Cancer Summit held alongside the 2025 PER® New York Lung Cancer Symposium.

Herzberg highlighted emerging targets such as MTAP deletions, SMARC4 mutations, and p53 mutations, which are not represented in common genetic testing panels. Early trials targeting these abnormalities have shown promise, including medicines that reactivate p53, leading to tumor shrinkage in some patients. These approaches may eventually allow for more personalized treatment strategies.

“I like weird and wacky, because new ideas are where we get the most mileage from,” Herzberg said.

“For the first time in the last year, we have seen medicines that reactivate p53, which looks most exciting,” he said.

Eye Symptoms Led to a Stage 4 Lung Cancer Diagnosis for Endurance Athlete

What began as a sudden loss of vision ultimately led Dave Nitsche, a lifelong nonsmoker and endurance athlete, to learn he had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to his eye, reshaping his life and fueling his advocacy for screening and awareness.

Nitsche describes how his diagnosis was discovered through a biopsy of fluid behind his eye and how he has since undergone multiple lines of targeted therapy and radiation. Despite ongoing treatment and side effects, he remains active, raises funds for cancer programs and works to challenge misconceptions about who can develop lung cancer, emphasizing the importance of screening.

“That’s where they found lung cancer; the cancer had metastasized to my eye,” Nitsche said.

“If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer,” he said.

References

1. “Updated results from the phase 3 ALINA study of adjuvant Alecensa versus chemotherapy in patients with early-stage ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer” by Dr. Rafal Dziadziuszko, et al., ESMO Congress
2. “FDA approves Alecensa as adjuvant treatment for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer” by Dr. Rafal Dziadziuszko, et al., FDA
3. “Novel Targets (KRAS G12C, HER2, MET exon 14 skipping, RET fusions),” by Dr. Benjamin Herzberg. CURE Educated Patient® Lung Cancer Summit; Nov. 15, 2025; New York, New York.

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