Dual immunotherapy plus chemotherapy before surgery improves patient outcomes in operable lung cancer

In a Phase II trial led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, adding ipilimumab to a neoadjuvant, or pre-surgical, combination of nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy, resulted in a major pathologic response (MPR) in half of all treated patients with early-stage, resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Yale Cancer Center Expert Reports Significant Improvement in Survival for Lung Cancer Patients in the ADAURA Phase III Trial, involving AstraZeneca’s Targeted Therapy Drug, Tagrisso

New data released from the ADAURA Phase III trial showed AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib) demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival, compared to placebo in the adjuvant treatment of patients with early stage EGFR-mutated lung cancer. Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, deputy…

Depression linked to deadly inflammation in lung cancer patients

Lung cancer patients with moderate to severe depression are 2 to 3 times more likely to have inflammation levels that predict poor survival rates, a new study found. The results may help explain why a substantial portion of lung cancer patients fail to respond to new immunotherapy and targeted treatments that have led to significantly longer survival for many people with the disease.

FDA Approves “Glowing Tumor” Imaging Drug to Aid Lung Cancer Surgery

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the targeted imaging agent Cytalux (pafolacianine) for use in lung cancer surgery. This injectable diagnostic binds to cancerous tissue and glows when stimulated by near-infrared light, making it easier for surgeons to remove tumors completely while sparing healthy tissue. Thoracic surgeons at the Center for Precision Surgery in the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine led the clinical trials evaluating the imaging agent in lung cancer, in a partnership with On Target Laboratories.

Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center Now Offers The Most Advanced Robotic Bronchoscopy Technology in Central New Jersey

“Our new Ion Bronchoscopy system is a robotic-assisted minimally invasive biopsy platform. It features an ultra-thin, ultra-maneuverable catheter that allows navigation far into the lung, reaching smaller airways, said Faiz Y. Bhora, MD, FACS, chair of surgery, and chief of thoracic surgery, central region, Hackensack Meridian Health. “This platform’s unprecedented stability enables the precision needed for biopsy compared to manual techniques and the ability to diagnose lung cancer at the earliest stage when it is most treatable.”

American Lung Association to Study New Treatment Approach for Lung Cancer

Sean P. Pitroda, MD, Assistant Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology at the University of Chicago, has received a Lung Cancer Discovery Award and been selected to join the American Lung Association Research Team for his work to improve treatment response in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (mNSCLC).

Lung Cancer Screening Dramatically Increases Long-term Survival Rate

Diagnosing early-stage lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening drastically improves the survival rate of cancer patients over a 20-year period, according to a large-scale international study being presented by Mount Sinai researchers at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Leads Collaborative Effort to End Lung Cancer Related Stigmas

Stigma can have profound and lasting effects, and studies have shown that people living with lung cancer may encounter challenges in receiving the support they need from their social network and healthcare providers. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) is committed to helping eliminate the stigmas associated with a lung cancer diagnosis and is working to raise awareness in collaboration with other national organizations.

Most persons screened for lung cancer meet USPSTF criteria, but adherence to follow-up screening low

A cohort study of more than one million people has found that most persons screened for lung cancer meet U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) criteria, but men, persons who formerly smoked, and younger eligible patients are less likely to be screened. Adherence to follow-up screening was also poor. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Phase II clinical trial suggests treatment pre-surgery safe and effective option for localized non-small cell lung cancer

New study data shows that the immuno-oncology drug, atezolizumab is a safe and effective treatment for stage IB-IIIB non-small cell lung cancer patients prior to lung cancer surgery, according to a new study led by researchers with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute as part of the national Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium 3 study.

Researchers found that the survival of patients in this new study was far better – about 80% at three years post treatment and approximately twice as good as that which would be expected with surgery and chemotherapy alone. Study investigators also report data showing that the presence of high numbers of natural killer (NK) cells – a type of immune cell found in the blood before treatment – were associated with poor immunotherapy treatment effectiveness in this study. Patients with high levels of these cells might benefit from the addition of NK-specific therapy.

Mount Sinai Awarded Three-Year Grant to Explore Therapeutic Approaches to KRAS Mutant Lung Tumors

Mount Sinai is leading a team of lung cancer researchers that has been awarded a three-year, $500,000 grant from Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C) to explore therapeutic approaches to lung tumors with mutations in the KRAS gene, an undertaking that could have a significant impact for a large population of cancer patients who currently lack effective treatment options.

Sexual dysfunction high among women with lung cancer

Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in women with lung cancer with most survey participants reporting little to no interest in sexual activity, according to research led by Narjust Florez (Duma), MD, associate director for the Cancer Care Equity Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The research was presented today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference on Lung Cancer 2022.

NUS study: Black cardamom effective against lung cancer cells

In Indian Ayurvedic medicine, black cardamom has been used in formulations to treat cancer and lung conditions. A team of NUS researchers studied the scientific basis behind this traditional medicinal practice and provided evidence of the cytotoxic effect of black cardamom on lung cancer cells. The findings could potentially lead to the discovery of safe and effective new bioactives which can prevent or cure cancer formation.

$5.3 million grant supports research into lung cancer recurrence

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are leading a national study aimed at identifying patients with early-stage lung cancer who are at high risk of having the cancer return, even after surgery and chemotherapy appear to have eliminated their tumors. The research is supported by a $5.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Penn Medicine Awarded $9 Million to Advance Study of Technology that Lights Up Lung Cancer Tumors

Building on Penn Medicine’s years of research and use of imaging technology that illuminates tumor tissue—helping clinicians more easily detect and remove it—the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has received a five-year, $9 million research grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to push the field forward, particularly for lung cancer patients.

Targeted Drug Achieves 43% Response Rate in KRAS-mutated Lung Cancer

Nearly 43% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose lung cancers harbored a specific KRAS mutation responded to the experimental drug adagrasib, and the targeted agent also showed activity against lesions in the brain that metastasized from the lung tumors, according to results of a study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators.

Henry Ford Health is First in the World to Offer Latest Advancement in MR-Guided Radiation Therapy

Henry Ford Health is the first in the world to complete a full course of patient treatments using the latest advancement in magnetic resonance (MR)-guided radiation therapy, which integrates real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and linear acceleration to deliver precise and accurate radiation treatment more rapidly than ever before.

Biomarker in Liquid Biopsy for Lung Cancer Appears More Accurate in Predicting Immunotherapy Response Than Tumor Biopsy

Mount Sinai researchers have validated for the first time that a simple blood test called a liquid biopsy could be a better predictor of whether cancer immunotherapy will be successful for a patient with lung cancer than an invasive tumor biopsy procedure. Their study was published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research in June.

Penn Medicine Study Reveals Imaging Approach with Potential to Detect Lung Cancer Earlier, at the Cellular Level

Researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to identify lung cancer at the cellular level in real time during a biopsy, offering promise in the ability to detect the disease earlier and with more confidence. The research is published this week in Nature Communications.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 4, 2022

Featured studies include clinical advances with a new combination therapy targeting angiogenesis in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and a promising immunotherapy combination for kidney cancer, plus laboratory studies that focus on targeting ferroptosis in specific lung cancers, developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasms, and characterizing racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer early detection.

Moffitt Researchers Develop Model to Predict Patients with Poor Lung Cancer Outcomes

Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are working to improve the ability to identify patients who are at a higher risk of poor survival through radiomics, an area of science that uses imaging, such as CT scans and MRIs, to uncover tumoral patterns and characteristics that may not be easy to spot by the naked eye. Results of their newest study was published today in Cancer Biomarkers.

Simple changes in care reduced heart exposure during lung cancer radiation treatment

A team at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center, in partnership with the statewide Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium (MROQC) lung cancer collaborative, found that raising awareness about the risk of radiation exposure to the heart and standardizing cardiac exposure limits reduced the average dose to the heart by 15% and reduced the number of patients receiving the highest heart doses by half without minimizing tumor treatment or increasing dosage to other at-risk organs in the chest

NCCN Announces Funding for Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Projects, in Collaboration with AstraZeneca

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Oncology Research Program to oversee projects focused on improving patient care and outcomes in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer in collaboration with AstraZeneca.

Confronting Disparities in Lung Cancer

Compared with all other racial and ethnic groups in the United States, Black people are disproportionally more affected by lung cancer. Sharon R. Pine, PhD, a resident member of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, associate professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and member of the Cancer Health Equity Center of Excellence e, discusses the barriers that Black people face, the research being done on racial health disparities and how action can be taken now.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for November 3, 2021

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recently published studies in basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include the cost-effectiveness of expanded lung cancer screening criteria, a novel biomarker for predicting immunotherapy responses, development of a technique for multiplex single-cell chromatin profiling, combination immunotherapy for bone metastatic prostate cancer, understanding drivers of lung cancer metastasis, and enabling new T cell therapies for treating COVID-19.