Watch these interviews on the iPad edition of this issue conducted by Peter Goodwin
Controlling Side Effects from Targeted Drugs in Lung Cancer
Silvia Novello, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Respiratory Medicine in the Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences at the University of Turin in Italy, notes that although the toxicities from targeted agents used in lung cancer differ from those with other drugs, the effects can be managed successfully if recognized early and treated-specifically, side effects to treatments targeting EGFR and immune checkpoints, such as diarrhea, metabolic disturbances, and electrolyte imbalances, have been successfully managed. This shows that "careful planning and vigilance" can help deliver new-generation drug regimens on dose and on time to achieve significant improvements in outcomes.
CD8+ Cell Infiltration and Checkpoint Inhibition in NSCLC and Mesothelioma
Martin Reck, MD, PhD, Head of the Departments of Thoracic Oncology and Clinical Trials at Hospital Grosshansdorf in Germany, discusses the use of CD8-positive T-cell infiltration as an independent prognostic biomarker in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer and the potential of checkpoint inhibitors against mesothelioma after first- or second-line chemotherapy.
IGNITE Study: More Asians than Russians with Mutant EGFR Lung Adenocarcinoma; Adjuvant Erlotinib for Stage IIIA-N2 Disease
Baohui Han, MD PhD, Professor of Oncology at Shanghai Chest Hospital, elaborated on the results of the IGNITE study that he presented, showing support for "real world" testing for EGFR mutations in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Using both tissue and plasma circulating tumor DNA testing in approximately 3,300 patients from Russia, China, and other countries, he and his colleagues found more EGFR mutations in such patients with adenocarcinomas compared with those with NSCLCs of other histology, although the levels were still high enough to justify the use of mutation testing for all patients. In addition, more Asian than Russian patients were found to have mutant-EGFR lung adenocarcinoma; and a partner study assessing the use of erlotinib therapy in three groups of patients found that it was most effective in patients with stage IIIA disease.
Vaccines in NSCLC
Johan Vansteenkiste, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium, discusses the disappointing results so far for the use of vaccines against non-small cell lung cancer, a topic in his report of the results for the MAGRIT trial of MAGE-A3 vaccine. Still, he notes the data do suggest a possibility for combining vaccines with other immune-based therapies that include checkpoint inhibitors.
If you are not yet receiving our iPad issues, download the free Oncology Times app from the App Store today! Visithttp://bit.ly/OT-iPadApp, search in the App Store, or follow the link onhttp://oncology-times.com.