ASCO 2013: new developments in lung cancer

Abstract

At American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting 2013, some new data were presented, which might have a practice-changing potential. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutational testing was successfully performed in plasma samples, giving hope that tumor biopsies might be replaced by a more comfortable blood analysis. Some studies focused on new second-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors, which showed an impressive efficacy even in crizotinib refractory patients in phase I/II studies and support a sequence of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in this sub-entity of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Immunological strategies are worth being tested also in lung cancer, as different strategies have proven first signs of efficacy (MUC1 antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy, programmed cell death ligand 1). Finally, a large phase III trial found that a new oral vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, fibroblast growth factor receptor, and platelet-derived growth factor receptor TKI (nintedanib) combined with docetaxel improved outcome in second-line NSCLC patients when compared with docetaxel monotherapy.