Lung Cancer Research Results and Study Updates
See Advances in Lung Cancer Research for an overview of recent findings and progress, plus ongoing projects supported by NCI.
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Tarlatamab Shows Promise for Some People with Small Cell Lung CancerPosted:
Tarlatamab, a new type of targeted immunotherapy, shrank small cell lung cancer (SCLC) tumors in more than 30% of participants in an early-stage clinical trial. Participants had SCLC that had progressed after previous treatments with other drugs.
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Selpercatinib Slows Progression of RET-Positive Lung, Medullary Thyroid CancersPosted:
For people with lung cancer and medullary thyroid cancer whose tumors have changes in the RET gene, selpercatinib improved progression-free survival compared with other common treatments, according to new clinical trial results.
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Lung Cancer Trial of Osimertinib Draws Praise—and Some CriticismPosted:
In the ADAURA clinical trial, people with early-stage lung cancer treated with osimertinib (Tagrisso) after surgery lived longer than people treated with a placebo after surgery. Despite some criticisms about its design, the trial is expected to change patient care.
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Lung-Sparing Surgery Is Effective for Some with Early-Stage Lung CancerPosted:
For certain people with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, sublobar surgery to remove only a piece of the affected lung lobe is as effective as surgery to remove the whole lobe, new research shows.
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Pragmatica-Lung Cancer Treatment TrialPosted:
Pragmatica-Lung is a clinical trial for people with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread beyond the lungs (stage 4 cancer). The trial will help confirm if the combination of pembrolizumab and ramucirumab helps people with advanced lung cancer live longer.
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Enhertu Marks First Targeted Therapy for HER2-Mutant Lung CancerPosted:
On August 11, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave accelerated approval to trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) for adults with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has a specific mutation in the HER2 gene. Around 3% of people with NSCLC have this kind of HER2 mutation.
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For Early-Stage Lung Cancer, Nivolumab and Chemo before Surgery Proves EffectivePosted:
Giving people with early-stage lung cancer the immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo) and chemotherapy before surgery can substantially delay the progression or return of their cancer, a large clinical trial found.
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Adjuvant Immunotherapy Approved for Some Patients with Lung CancerPosted:
Atezolizumab (Tecentriq) is now the first immunotherapy approved by FDA for use as an additional, or adjuvant, treatment for some patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The approval was based on results of a clinical trial called IMpower010.
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Quitting Smoking Improves Survival in People with Lung CancerPosted:
Quitting smoking after a diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer may help people live longer, a new study finds. The study, which included more than 500 patients, also found that quitting smoking delayed the cancer from returning or getting worse.
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NIH Study Illuminates Origins of Lung Cancer in Never SmokersPosted:
NCI scientists and their international collaborators have found that the majority of lung cancers in never smokers arise when mutations caused by natural processes in the body accumulate. They also identified three subtypes of lung cancer these individuals.
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FDA Approval of KRAS Inhibitor Sotorasib for Lung Cancer Hailed as MilestonePosted:
FDA has approved the first KRAS-blocking drug, sotorasib (Lumakras). The approval, which covers the use of sotorasib to treat some patients with advanced lung cancer, sets the stage for other KRAS inhibitors already in development, researchers said.
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Topotecan–Berzosertib Combination Shows Promise against Small Cell Lung CancerPosted:
Combining the chemotherapy drug topotecan and the investigational drug berzosertib shrank tumors in some patients with small cell lung cancer, results from an NCI-supported phase 1 clinical trial show. Two phase 2 trials of the combination are planned.
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New treatments spur sharp reduction in lung cancer mortality ratePosted:
Mortality rates from the most common lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), have fallen sharply in the United States in recent years, due primarily to recent advances in treatment, an NCI study shows.
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Study Links Mental Health Treatment to Improved Cancer SurvivalPosted:
In a study of more than 50,000 veterans with lung cancer, those with mental illness who received mental health treatment—including for substance use—lived substantially longer than those who didn’t participate in such programs.
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Selpercatinib Approved for Thyroid and Lung Cancers with RET Gene AlterationsPosted:
FDA has granted accelerated approval for selpercatinib (Retevmo) to treat certain patients with thyroid cancer or non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors have RET gene alterations. The drug, which works by blocking the activity of RET proteins, was approved based on the results of the LIBRETTO-001 trial.
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Osimertinib Improves Survival in Advanced Lung Cancer with EGFR MutationsPosted:
Osimertinib (Tagrisso) improves survival in people with non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations, updated clinical trial results show. People treated with osimertinib lived longer than those treated with earlier-generation EGFR-targeted drugs.
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Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Small Cell Lung CancerPosted:
A large clinical trial showed that adding the immunotherapy drug durvalumab (Imfinzi) to standard chemotherapy can prolong survival in some people with previously untreated advanced small cell lung cancer.
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Selpercatinib Shows Promise against Lung Cancers with Alterations in RET GenePosted:
The investigational drug selpercatinib may benefit patients with lung cancer whose tumors have alterations in the RET gene, including fusions with other genes, according to results from a small clinical trial.
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FDA Approves Entrectinib Based on Tumor Genetics Rather Than Cancer TypePosted:
FDA has approved entrectinib (Rozlytrek) for the treatment of children and adults with tumors bearing an NTRK gene fusion. The approval also covers adults with non-small cell lung cancer harboring a ROS1 gene fusion.
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Study Suggests Reviewing Lung Cancer Screening Criteria for African AmericansPosted:
Clinical recommendations on who should be screened for lung cancer may need to be reviewed when it comes to African Americans who smoke, findings from a new study suggest.
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Multipronged Approach Eliminates Racial Disparities in Early-Stage Lung Cancer TreatmentPosted:
Use of a multipronged approach within hospitals, including community centers, not only eliminated treatment disparities among black and white patients with early-stage lung cancer, it also improved treatment rates for all patients, results from a new study show.
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After Lung Cancer Screening, Follow-Up Procedures May Be Riskier than ThoughtPosted:
In everyday medical care, there may be more complications from invasive diagnostic procedures performed after lung cancer screening than has been reported in large studies.
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Lung-MAP: Master Protocol for Lung CancerUpdated:
The Lung Cancer Master Protocol, or Lung-MAP, is a precision medicine research study for people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer that has continued to grow after treatment. Patients are assigned to different study drug combinations based on the results of genomic profiling of their tumors.
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Atezolizumab Approved for Initial Treatment of Metastatic Lung CancerPosted:
On December 6, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with a standard three-drug regimen as an initial treatment for advanced lung cancer that does not have EGFR or ALK mutations.
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For Early-Stage Lung Cancer, Study Identifies Potential New Biomarker, Treatment TargetPosted:
A new study has identified a potential biomarker of early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The biomarker, the study’s leaders said, could help diagnose precancerous lung growths and early-stage lung cancers noninvasively and distinguish them from noncancerous growths.
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Trial Results Highlight Changing Lung Cancer Treatment LandscapePosted:
Results from two large clinical trials should cement the value of the drugs brigatinib (Alunbrig) and durvalumab (Imfinzi) in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The trial results, several experts said, confirm that the drugs can improve the outcomes of patients with advanced NSCLC.
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Using Artificial Intelligence to Classify Lung Cancer Types, Predict MutationsPosted:
Cancer researchers have trained a computer program to scan images of tissue samples to differentiate normal lung tissue from the two most common forms of lung cancer. The program also learned to detect cancer-related genetic mutations in the samples.
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For Small Cell Lung Cancer, Immunotherapy Drug Finally Brings Improved SurvivalPosted:
In a large clinical trial, the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq), combined with a standard chemotherapy regimen, modestly increased survival in patients with advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The trial is the first in more than 20 years to show a survival improvement in this cancer.
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Immunotherapy Drugs Expand Treatment Options for Advanced Lung CancerPosted:
Results from a large clinical trial show combining an immune checkpoint inhibitor with chemotherapy helped some patients with advanced lung cancer live longer than chemotherapy alone. How will this change the lung cancer treatment landscape?
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Lung Cancer Screening Most Beneficial for Those at Highest Risk, Analysis SuggestsPosted:
An analysis of data from a demonstration project led by the Veterans Health Administration may help to better define who is most likely to benefit from lung cancer screening.
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Study Finds Biological Differences in Lung Tumors of African Americans and WhitesPosted:
Patterns of gene expression may be different in the tumors of some African Americans than in those of whites, a new study has found, and these biological differences may contribute to racial disparities in lung cancer.
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FDA Approves Alectinib For Initial Treatment of ALK-Positive Lung CancerPosted:
FDA has approved alectinib (Alecensa) as a first-line treatment option for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer that is ALK positive. Alectinib is the third ALK inhibitor to be approved in this setting.
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The ALCHEMIST Lung Cancer TrialsUpdated:
A collection of material about the ALCHEMIST lung cancer trials that will examine tumor tissue from patients with certain types of early-stage, completely resected non-small cell lung cancer for gene mutations in the EGFR and ALK genes, and assign patients with these gene mutations to treatment trials testing post-surgical use of drugs targeted against these mutations.
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Two-Drug Combination Approved for Lung Cancers with BRAF MutationsPosted:
FDA approved the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar®) and trametinib (Mekinist®) for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has an alteration in the BRAF gene called the V600E mutation.
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FDA Expands Approval of Ceritinib for ALK-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung CancerPosted:
The FDA has approved the targeted therapy ceritinib as an initial treatment for patients with lung cancer that has a mutation in the ALK gene.
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FDA Expands Approval of Pembrolizumab for First-Line Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung CancerPosted:
FDA approved the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab to be used with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.
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FDA Grants Brigatinib Accelerated Approval for Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung CancerPosted:
On April 28, the FDA granted accelerated approval to the targeted therapy brigatinib (Alunbrig™) for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and alterations in the ALK gene whose cancer has progressed during their initial therapy.
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Lung Cancer Screening Pilot Reveals Challenges, Growing PainsPosted:
A demonstration project by the Veterans Health Administration is highlighting some of the complexities and challenges associated with the expansion of lung cancer screening in the United States.
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Pembrolizumab Improves Survival for Some Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung CancerPosted:
Results from a phase III trial showed that the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) improved progression-free and overall survival among patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer compared with chemotherapy.