Annual International Lung Cancer Congress

According to Tony S. Mok, MD, first-line treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors for patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancers harboring uncommon driver mutations can be controversial. Instead, there is more evidence supporting the use of TKIs in the second-line for mutations such as <em>ROS1 </em>and <em>BRAF</em>, he explained during a presentation at the <em>19th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress.<br /> &nbsp;

Further advancements in precision medicine for patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer necessitate the use of more umbrella trials to evaluate therapies based on molecular aberrations versus tumor types, Vassiliki A. Papadimitrakopoulou, MD, suggested during a presentation at the <em>19th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress.

In a presentation at the&nbsp;<em>19th Annual</em> International Lung Cancer Congress,&nbsp;Tetsuya Mitsudomi, MD, PhD, provided sequencing options to utilize the many available regimens for the best potential survival outcomes for patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

Laurence J. Heifetz, MD, FACP, medical director, Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center, discusses a novel approach to managing disparities in lung cancer care.

The use of checkpoint inhibition in patients with locally advanced non&ndash;small cell lung cancer in combination with chemoradiation, and specifically durvalumab from the PACIFIC trial, has shown the first significant survival benefits in almost 25 years, according to Corey J. Langer, MD.

Combinations with immunotherapy agents have surged ahead with new regimens showing great potential for the treatment of patients with lung cancer, Corey Langer, MD, said during a presentation at the&nbsp;<em>19th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress (ILCC). Knowledge about a growing number of biomarkers are helping to guide treatment decisions with these combination options, he said, but the one standard of care has not yet been determined.

Ignacio I. Wistuba, MD, Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses how clinicians can best integrate molecular pathology into their treatment selection for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>at the 19^thAnnual International Lung Cancer Congress, Bunn, professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, discussed the potential approaches with neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapies for curing patients with lung cancer. He also shares his own opinions on which approaches might be best.

Giorgio Vittorio Scagliotti, MD, PhD, chief of the Medical Oncology Division at the S. Luigi Hospital, Orbassano (Torino), and head of the Department of Oncology at University of Torino, Italy, discusses the utilization of molecular profiling to inform treatment decisions for patients with non-small cell 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.