LUNG CANCER

According to the phase III IMpower131 trial findings presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, the risk of progression or death was reduced by 29% with the addition of atezolizumab  to the first-line treatment regimen of carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel versus chemotherapy alone for patients with advanced squamous non–small cell lung cancer.

The highly-selective RET inhibitor LOXO-292 induced an objective response rate of 77% for patients with RET fusion-positive non–small cell lung cancer, according to findings from the phase I LIBRETTO-001 study presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Julie Brahmer, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions she makes when treating patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Brahmer, co-director of the Upper Aerodigestive Department, Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, Maryland, discussed her treatment considerations based on case scenarios during a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation.

Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, discusses how his institution has changed vastly over the last few years, with an increasing number of clinical trials available for patients with lung cancer and other cancers. Clinical trials are often the best option for cancers where the outcomes with conventional treatments may be uncertain, Neel says.

Crizotinib has been granted a breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of patients with metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer with MET exon 14 alterations who progress after receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. Additionally,&nbsp;the kinase inhibitor was granted a designation for use&nbsp;patients with relapsed/refractory ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Following a planned interim analysis, 2 early-phase clinical trials&nbsp;exploring daratumumab in combination with either a PD-1 inhibitor for multiple myeloma or a PD-L1 inhibitor for non&ndash;small cell lung cancer have been terminated, according to a statement from Genmab, the company codeveloping daratumumab with Janssen.

Treatment Considerations for Unresectable Locally Advanced NSCLC

Despite recommendations from the United States Preventative Services Task Force, 1.9% of the 7.6 million current and former heavy smokers underwent cancer screening in 2016, suggesting screening is still inadequate. These results were presented ahead of the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting being held in Chicago, Illinois on June 1-5, 2018.

According to findings&nbsp;released ahead of the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) for patients with&nbsp;metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can save&nbsp;Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) payers $1.4 million to $2.1 million. The findings additionally showed that NGS saved commercial insurance providers more than $250,000.<br /> &nbsp;

Frontline Treatment Strategies in EGFR-Mutant NSCLC

Ben Levy, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer. Levy, clinical director of Medical Oncology, John Hopkins Sydney Kimmel Center, Washington, DC, explained his treatment decisions based on a case scenario during a <em>Targeted Oncology</em> live case-based peer perspectives presentation.

Chyke Doubeni, MD, chair of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Debra P. Ritzwoller, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente, have been chosen to codirect the new Center for Research to Optimize Precision Lung Cancer Screening.

Based on findings from the phase III IMpower150 trial, a supplemental biologics license application for atezolizumab has been granted a priority review by the FDA&nbsp;for use in combination with bevacizumab, carboplatin, and paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

Alice Shaw, MD, PhD, director of Thoracic Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, discussed the efficacy results from a recent trial investigating lorlatinib as treatment for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK) non&ndash;small cell lung cancer that had failed other treatments prior, including crizotinib (Xalkori) and other multiple ALK tyrosine-kinase inhibitors.

The FDA has received a supplemental biologics license application seeking approval for pembrolizumab in combination with standard chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with metastatic squamous non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.