Lung Cancer

A burning question is whether immunotherapy combinations will further improve outcomes over checkpoint inhibitor therapy alone; and if so, which combinations will rise to the top.

JONS talks with Medical Outreach Director Missy Miller about the mission of The Mesothelioma Center and the vital services it offers to patients.

On April 28, 2017, the FDA accelerated the approval of brigatinib (Alunbrig; Takeda Oncology), a new-generation oral ALK inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with ALK-positive metastatic NSCLC who do not tolerate or have had an inadequate response to crizotinib.

The updated guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network on the management of metastatic non–small cell lung cancer reflect the addition of osimertinib as a first-line option in patients with an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-sensitizing mutation and as subsequent therapy in patients whose disease progresses following another tyrosine kinase inhibitor if they develop a T790M resistance mutation.

In this Special Edition, we direct our attention to lung cancer and the positive impact navigators have had in this disease state.

To be effective, navigators are required to stay up to date on the constantly changing landscape of lung cancer care.

Osimertinib improves progression-free survival by 54% compared with standard first-line therapy in patients with EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to late-breaking results from the FLAURA trial presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid.

Durvalumab, a PD-L1 inhibitor, improved progression-free survival (PFS) by 11.2 months compared with placebo in patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that did not progress after standard treatment with chemoradiotherapy, according to results presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress.

Findings of a randomized study suggest that follow-up CT scans may not be needed every 3 to 6 months during the first 2 years after surgery for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

According to Morgan, “Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, claiming more lives than colon, breast, and prostate cancer combined.”