Biomarker-Driven Lung Cancer

In a keynote address by Frances A. Shepherd, MD, FRCPC, OOnt, OC, during the&nbsp;<em>19th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress, Shepherd expressed that <em>EGFR-</em>mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a model for how far the field of lung cancer has progressed in the past decade, thanks in large part to molecular pathologists.&nbsp;

Several biomarkers are beginning to emerge for immunotherapy in non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, and the collection of these markers, when used together, could further help to predict which patients are likely to respond to these therapies alone or in combination, according to a presentation by Giorgio Scagliotti, MD, PhD, at the <em>19th Annual</em> International Lung Cancer Congress.

Several novel agents are beginning to show promise for new targets in non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, especially <em>NRG1</em> and <em>LKB1,&nbsp;</em>and could be positioned to join&nbsp;already established standard-of-care therapies.

The primary endpoint of the phase III ALTA-1L trial has been met, as brigatinib was found to reduce the risk of&nbsp;disease progression or death versus crizotinib in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic <em>ALK</em>-positive non&ndash;small cell lung cancer who had not received a prior ALK inhibitor,&nbsp;Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, the manufacturer of brigatinib, has announced.

According to findings from the&nbsp;phase III IMpower132 study, the addition of atezolizumab to pemetrexed and cisplatin or carboplatin reduced the risk of disease progression or death compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with&nbsp;advanced nonsquamous non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

Alexander Drilon, MD, discusses the data currently available with targeting gene fusions, and shares insight into what is on the horizon in this area.

Clinical Management of NSCLC With Bone Metastases

Managing Metastatic NSCLC With Rapid Progression

Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP, deputy cancer center director, Translational Research Program, co-leader, Molecular Therapeutics Program, professor, Department Hematology/Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses updates in the use of liquid biopsies for multiple tumor types during the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.