Recent News & Research

*January 2023* Introduction Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations drive a subset of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients harboring the common EGFR mutations, deletion of exon 19 (Ex19del) and L858R, respond well to osimertinib, a third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor. However, the effect of osimertinib on NSCLC with atypical EGFR…

*November 2022* The uncommon EGFR mutations remain a perennial challenge to treat. They constitute a heterogenous group of molecular alterations within exons 18 to 21, which include substitution mutations of G719X, L861Q, and S768I, and exon 20 insertions, with prevalence of approximately 10% to 20% of EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC. EGFR mutations…

*January 2023* In an interview with OncLive®, Spira highlighted the top advancements across NSCLC in 2022, emphasized the need for increased genetic testing to inform treatment decisions, and previewed other agents under development. Spira is the co-director of the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute and the Phase I Trial Program, the…

*January 2023* Note: This is a deep dive into ADCs that are currently being used inside and outside clinical trials for lung cancers expressing HER2 or HER3 mutations as well as other mutations that occur after first- and second-line therapies. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are, arguably, the fastest-growing class of oncology drugs in…

*January 2023* The ASCO Living Guideline for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with driver alterations has gotten its first update, with data from recent studies -- DESTINY-Lung01 and CodeBreaK100 -- incorporated into the guidance. In the update, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dwight H. Owen, MD, MS, of the Ohio State University in Columbus,…

*November 2022* Antibody-drug conjugates targeting receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 (ERBB2, HER2) have emerged as promising targeted options for HER2-mutant NSCLC. Among antibody-drug conjugates targeting HER2, trastuzumab deruxtecan was found to have the most impressive efficacy and is a potential new standard of care. Drug-related interstitial lung disease remains a serious unpredictable…

*December 2022* In non–small cell lung cancer, EGFR mutations, MET exon 14 skipping mutations, and HER2 mutations are common mutations for which directed therapies are available. New approaches and novel agents are constantly being developed to identify and treat emerging targets in non– small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This article…

*October 2022* Introduction There is a paucity of data on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) plus doublet chemotherapy (C) in patients with advanced lung cancer whose tumor harbors an actionable mutation. We sought to provide insight into the role of this combination in relation to chemotherapy alone in this patient population.…

*December 2022* This video presentation features perspectives from lung cancer experts Drs Alexander Spira and Helena Yu and discusses the following: What is an antibody-drug conjugate? HER-2 positive NSCLC Targeting HER3 NSCLC TROP2-directed treatment Novel Agents Watch video here.

*December 2022* Newly diagnosed patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) benefit tremendously from next-generation sequencing (NGS) to test for driver mutations and determine the best first-line treatment. But NGS platforms, such as parallel DNA sequencing, can have longer turnaround times than non-NGS testing, and "elays in time to treatment…