Articles related to LUNG CANCER

In this JAMA Original Investigation, the researchers studied 19,529 patients with Medicare coverage who initiated first systemic therapy for advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using 1 of 4 regimens of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and combined chemoimmunotherapy. The goal? To gauge the uptake and effectiveness of immunotherapy among older patients outside clinical trials.

Although the MYSTIC phase 3 clinical trial examining durvalumab therapy for non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) did not meet its primary end points – overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) – it did show a numerically reduced risk for death with durvalumab (Imfinzi) versus chemotherapy in patients with PD-L1 expression on ≥25% of tumor cells.

From the pages of Oncology Times comes the latest approvals, designations, and new indications from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for oncology drugs. Stories include new approvals in multiple myeloma, esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), anaplastic lymphoma, and more.

Dr. David P. Carbone, Director of the Thoracic Oncology Center at Ohio State University, comments on a study evaluating the efficacy of anti–PD1/PD-L1 monotherapy for patients with NSCLC and active brain metastases: “…the initial hope that PD‑1 inhibitors could be active on brain metastases has not been fully fulfilled, and the aggressive use of stereotactic radiation in that setting is useful.”

In addition to reducing pack-years history of smoking, the recommendation calls for annual screening for lung cancer at age 50 years instead of age 55 years, an update of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidance on lung cancer screening issued 7 years ago.

The Journal of Clinical Oncology published the double-blind, phase 3 KEYNOTE-604 clinical trial study results, which sought to compare pembrolizumab plus etoposide and platinum (EP) with placebo plus EP in treatment-naïve patients with ES-SCLC.