Lung Cancer

Dr. Jack West introduces the question of whether third generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors osimertinib and rociletinib should be used as first line therapy rather than for acquired resistance, including discussing key clinical trials on the topic.

Drs. Leora Horn, Ben Solomon, & Jack West assess whether clinical factors such as being a never-smoker or having a driver mutation (EGFR, ALK, etc.) reliably predict minimal benefit from immunotherapy agents.

Dr. Eddie Garon, UCLA, reviews the controversial question of whether PD-L1 expression is a reliable enough biomarker to be used to select patients to receive or not receive immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in lung cancer.

Drs. Leora Horn, Ben Solomon, & Jack West consider the factors that might lead us to favor testing for PD-L1 at initial workup of a patient with advanced NSCLC or after progression.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are now becoming approved and commercially available for patients with previously treated advanced NSCLC. Dr. Eddie Garon, medical oncologist at UCLA, summarizes key data and explains their current role in treatment.