September 7th 2024
Investigators showcased feasibility of combining pathology findings with deep learning artificial intelligence to speed up biomarker detection and discovery for patients with lung cancer.
42nd Annual CFS: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow®
November 13-15, 2024
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Community Practice Connections™: 5th Annual Precision Medicine Symposium – An Illustrated Tumor Board
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How CEACAM5 Expression Can Be Measured and Leveraged in NSCLC Care: Current Developments & Future Therapeutic Opportunities
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Medical Crossfire®: Where Are We in the World of ADCs? From HER2 to CEACAM5, TROP2, HER3, CDH6, B7H3, c-MET and Beyond!
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Community Oncology Connections™: Overcoming Barriers to Testing, Trial Access, and Equitable Care in Cancer
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22nd Annual Winter Lung Cancer Conference®
January 31, 2025 - February 2, 2025
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Dialogues With the Surgeon on Integration of Systemic Therapies in Perioperative Settings for NSCLC: Looking at EGFR, ALK, IO, and Beyond…
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Fighting Disparities and Saving Lives: An Exploration of Challenges and Solutions in Cancer Care
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26th Annual International Lung Cancer Congress®
July 25-26, 2025
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Reduced Lung Cancer Risk Seen in Women Textile Workers
April 1st 2007Long-term, high-level exposure to bacterial endotoxins in raw cotton fiber and cotton dust was associated with a 40% decrease in lung cancer risk among female Chinese textile workers. The risk of developing lung cancer decreased for workers exposed to greater amounts of endotoxins over many years.
Study Confirms Avastin Advantage in Advanced NSCLC
March 1st 2007Roche has announced that the international phase III Avastin in Lung study (AVAiL, BO17704) met its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival in patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous-cell, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Phase III Trial of Lung Ca Vaccine Opens
March 1st 2007Merck KGaA has opened enrollment in its global phase III clinical study, known as START, assessing the efficacy and safety of Stimuvax (BLP25 liposome vaccine) as a potential treatment for patients with unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have had a response or stable disease after at least two cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy.
Three Sports Legends Team Up to Help Fight Lung Cancer
March 1st 2007Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman (shown talking to the media at Super Bowl XLI) has joined Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., Emmy-award winning sportscaster Joe Buck, and the Lung Cancer Alliance (lungcanceralliance.org) for the lung cancer awareness campaign "A Face in the Fight."
Treating Small-Cell Lung Cancer: More Consensus Than Controversy
March 1st 2007Almost 40% of patients with newly diagnosed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have disease confined to the ipsilateral hemithorax and within a single radiation port, ie, limited-stage disease. The median survival for this group of patients after treatment is approximately 15 months, with one in every four patients surviving 2 years. Current optimal treatment consists of chemotherapy with platinum/etoposide, given concurrently with thoracic radiation. Surgery may represent an option for very early-stage disease, but its added value is uncertain. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is used for patients with limited-stage SCLC who have achieved a complete response following initial therapy, as it decreases the risk of brain metastases and provides an overall survival benefit. Newer targeted agents are currently being evaluated in this disease and hold the promise of improving current outcomes seen in patients with early-stage disease.
Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Therapeutic Changes
March 1st 2007Almost 40% of patients with newly diagnosed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have disease confined to the ipsilateral hemithorax and within a single radiation port, ie, limited-stage disease. The median survival for this group of patients after treatment is approximately 15 months, with one in every four patients surviving 2 years. Current optimal treatment consists of chemotherapy with platinum/etoposide, given concurrently with thoracic radiation. Surgery may represent an option for very early-stage disease, but its added value is uncertain. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is used for patients with limited-stage SCLC who have achieved a complete response following initial therapy, as it decreases the risk of brain metastases and provides an overall survival benefit. Newer targeted agents are currently being evaluated in this disease and hold the promise of improving current outcomes seen in patients with early-stage disease.
Limited-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Therapeutic Options
March 1st 2007Almost 40% of patients with newly diagnosed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have disease confined to the ipsilateral hemithorax and within a single radiation port, ie, limited-stage disease. The median survival for this group of patients after treatment is approximately 15 months, with one in every four patients surviving 2 years. Current optimal treatment consists of chemotherapy with platinum/etoposide, given concurrently with thoracic radiation. Surgery may represent an option for very early-stage disease, but its added value is uncertain. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is used for patients with limited-stage SCLC who have achieved a complete response following initial therapy, as it decreases the risk of brain metastases and provides an overall survival benefit. Newer targeted agents are currently being evaluated in this disease and hold the promise of improving current outcomes seen in patients with early-stage disease.
BB-10901 Compound Delivers Potent Agent to CD56+ Tumors
February 1st 2007Early data from a phase I study of the targeted immunoconjugate BB-10901, also known as huN901-DM1 (ImmunoGen), has provided evidence of the drug's safety and clinical activity in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and other CD56-positive solid tumors.
Tarceva NSCLC Trial of Nonsmokers Only
February 1st 2007Investigators have begun enrolling a select group of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients—those who have never smoked or once smoked lightly—into a phase II trial to determine whether erlotinib (Tarceva), with or without chemotherapy, is effective as first-line treatment.
Lung Cancer Alliance Launches Website to Educate Those at Highest Risk
February 1st 2007The Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) recently launched screenforlungcancer.org, a new website aimed at educating people at risk for lung cancer about the importance of yearly low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening to promote early detection of the disease.
State of the Art in Lung Cancer: A Glass One-Quarter Full?
February 1st 2007Surgery remains the initial treatment for patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Additional therapy is necessary because of high rates of distant and local disease recurrence after surgical resection. Early trials of adjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative radiation were often plagued by small patient sample size, inadequate surgical staging, and ineffective or antiquated treatment. A 1995 meta-analysis found a nonsignificant reduction in risk of death for postoperative cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Since then, a new generation of randomized phase III trials have been conducted, some of which have reported a benefit for chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting. The role of postoperative radiation therapy remains to be defined. It may not be beneficial in early-stage NSCLC but still may have utility in stage IIIA disease. Improvement in survival outcomes from adjuvant treatment are likely to result from the evaluation of novel agents, identification of tumor markers predictive of disease relapse, and definition of factors that determine sensitivity to therapeutic agents. Some of the molecularly targeted agents such as the angiogenesis and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors are being incorporated into clinical trials. Preliminary results with gene-expression profiles and lung cancer proteomics have been promising. These techniques may be used to create prediction models to identify patients at risk for disease relapse. Molecular markers such as ERCC1 may determine response to treatment. All of these innovations will hopefully increase cure rates for lung cancer patients by maximizing the efficacy of adjuvant therapy.
Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Adjuvant Therapy: Translating Data Into Reality
February 1st 2007Surgery remains the initial treatment for patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Additional therapy is necessary because of high rates of distant and local disease recurrence after surgical resection. Early trials of adjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative radiation were often plagued by small patient sample size, inadequate surgical staging, and ineffective or antiquated treatment. A 1995 meta-analysis found a nonsignificant reduction in risk of death for postoperative cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Since then, a new generation of randomized phase III trials have been conducted, some of which have reported a benefit for chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting. The role of postoperative radiation therapy remains to be defined. It may not be beneficial in early-stage NSCLC but still may have utility in stage IIIA disease. Improvement in survival outcomes from adjuvant treatment are likely to result from the evaluation of novel agents, identification of tumor markers predictive of disease relapse, and definition of factors that determine sensitivity to therapeutic agents. Some of the molecularly targeted agents such as the angiogenesis and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors are being incorporated into clinical trials. Preliminary results with gene-expression profiles and lung cancer proteomics have been promising. These techniques may be used to create prediction models to identify patients at risk for disease relapse. Molecular markers such as ERCC1 may determine response to treatment. All of these innovations will hopefully increase cure rates for lung cancer patients by maximizing the efficacy of adjuvant therapy.
Adjuvant Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: How Do We Improve the Cure Rates Further?
February 1st 2007Surgery remains the initial treatment for patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Additional therapy is necessary because of high rates of distant and local disease recurrence after surgical resection. Early trials of adjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative radiation were often plagued by small patient sample size, inadequate surgical staging, and ineffective or antiquated treatment. A 1995 meta-analysis found a nonsignificant reduction in risk of death for postoperative cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Since then, a new generation of randomized phase III trials have been conducted, some of which have reported a benefit for chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting. The role of postoperative radiation therapy remains to be defined. It may not be beneficial in early-stage NSCLC but still may have utility in stage IIIA disease. Improvement in survival outcomes from adjuvant treatment are likely to result from the evaluation of novel agents, identification of tumor markers predictive of disease relapse, and definition of factors that determine sensitivity to therapeutic agents. Some of the molecularly targeted agents such as the angiogenesis and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors are being incorporated into clinical trials. Preliminary results with gene-expression profiles and lung cancer proteomics have been promising. These techniques may be used to create prediction models to identify patients at risk for disease relapse. Molecular markers such as ERCC1 may determine response to treatment. All of these innovations will hopefully increase cure rates for lung cancer patients by maximizing the efficacy of adjuvant therapy.
Lilly 2006 Oncology on Canvas Winners 'Embrace Life'
January 1st 2007A striking black-and-white photograph (see Figure) of nursing student Katherine Wilson, a nonsmoker who lived 5 years with small-cell lung cancer before dying in 2005 at age 28, won the Best of the United States first prize in the 2006 Lilly Oncology on Canvas: Expressions of a Cancer Journey International Art Competition and Exhibition. The US competition finale was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, with Lilly President and COO John C. Lechleiter, PhD, presenting the top three US finalists with their awards.
Reovirus Agent Shows Activity in Phase I Trial
December 1st 2006Results from Oncolytics Biotech's phase I trial of Reolysin, its oncolytic reovirus, show stable disease in 7 of 32 patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors refractory to standard therapy or for which no curative standard therapy exists. Dr. Timothy Yap of The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, UK, presented the study at the 18th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics
Postoperative RT Boosts Survival in N2 Lung Ca Patients
December 1st 2006Postoperative radiotherapy, added to adjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy, resulted in a near-doubling of median survival in patients with completely resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), compared with chemotherapy alone—but only in the presence of mediastinal lymph node involvement (N2 disease).
Pharmion Purchases Cabrellis, US Developer of Amrubicin
December 1st 2006Pharmion Corporation has acquired Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals and gained US and European rights to amrubicin, a third-generation synthetic anthracycline currently in phase II trials for small-cell lung cancer in North America and Europe.
3D Volumetric Imaging Enhances RT Treatment Planning
December 1st 2006A device that displays a holograph-like 3-dimensional (3D) image, created from a CT, MRI, or PET dataset, holds promise for more accurate radiotherapy treatment planning (see image on page 1). James C. H. Chu, PhD, professor of radiation oncology, Rush University Medical Center, presented results of a pilot study of the Perspecta Spatial 3D System, developed by Actuality Systems, Inc. (Bedford, Massachusetts), at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology