New Study Finds Limited Documentation of Cost Discussions With Patients Newly Diagnosed With Advanced Cancer

A new study by researchers at the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, shows only about a quarter of individuals newly diagnosed with advanced cancers had documented physician discussions about costs of care, which may hinder identifying patient needs and tracking outcomes of referrals for assistance.

Lung cancer outcomes significantly improved with immunotherapy-based treatment given before and after surgery

A regimen of pre-surgical immunotherapy and chemotherapy followed by post-surgical immunotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates compared to chemotherapy alone for patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results of a Phase III trial reported by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

ESMO: Pre- and post-surgical immunotherapy improves outcomes for patients with operable lung cancer

Perioperative immunotherapy plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) in patients with resectable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to chemotherapy alone. Results from the Phase III CheckMate 77T study were presented today at the 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Combination immunotherapy treatment effective before lung cancer surgery

Combination immunotherapy with the anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody durvalumab and other novel agents outperforms durvalumab alone in the neoadjuvant (pre-surgical) setting for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy provides long-term benefits to patients with locally advanced lung cancer

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) should be the preferred choice when treating patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as it reduces radiation exposure to the heart and lungs, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Antibody-drug conjugate shows impressive activity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer with mutation in HER2 gene

More than half of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) bearing a mutation in the HER2 gene had their tumors stop growing or shrink for an extended time after treatment with a drug that hitches a chemotherapy agent to a highly targeted antibody, an international clinical trial led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has found.

Long-term benefit of SABR for operable early-stage NSCLC shown in new study

A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) was as effective as surgery at providing long-term benefits to patients with operable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and generated minimal side effects. The study is the first of its kind to compare long-term results of SABR against surgical treatment in patients with operable early-stage NSCLC.

New research uncovers how cancers with common gene mutation develop resistance to targeted drugs

A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers has given scientists their first look at the genomic landscape of tumors that have grown resistant to drugs targeting the abnormal KRASG12C protein. Their work shows that, far from adopting a common route to becoming resistant, the cells take a strikingly diverse set of avenues, often several at a time. The findings, reported online today in the New England Journal of Medicine, underscore the need for new drugs that inhibit KRAS differently than current agents do.

Roswell Park Researchers Identify New Biomarker of Response to Checkpoint Inhibitors

A team of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers has identified a new biomarker that could predict response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) shortly after patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) initiate therapy. This discovery, published today in the journal Nature Communications, is not only an important step forward in lung cancer treatment, but also has implications for other malignancies, according to lead author Fumito Ito, MD, PhD, FACS.

Yale study leads to FDA approval of drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer

Based on results of a clinical trial led by Yale Cancer Center researchers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved osimertinib for the treatment of adults with early-stage, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR gene mutations, which occurs in about 10 percent of patients.

Exploring Autophagy as a Therapeutic Strategy against Frequent Mutations in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey expert investigates the role of a cellular survival mechanism known as autophagy in the formation of tumors driven by mutations in tumor suppressors known as LKB1 and oncogene KRAS.

Targeted inhibitor of mutated KRAS gene shows promise in early trial for lung, bowel, and other solid tumors

A novel agent that targets a mutated form of the KRAS gene – the most commonly altered oncogene in human cancers and one long considered “undruggable” – shrank tumors in most patients in a clinical trial with manageable side effects, researchers reported today at the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Therapeutic, which is taking place online.

Targeted therapy tepotinib for non-small cell lung cancer with MET exon 14 skipping mutation shows durable response

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the MET exon 14 (METex14) skipping mutation had a 46.5% objective response rate to the targeted therapy drug tepotinib, as shown in a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 9556 – Poster 322) by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Yale Cancer Center Study Shows Long-Term Survival Benefit for Certain Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer

According to the results of a large, global study led by Yale Cancer Center researchers, even a tiny amount of a biomarker known as PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand1) can predict a long-term survival benefit from using pembrolizumab (Keytruda).