There are sub-types within the sub-type of EGFR mutation positive lung cancer. In this presentation, Dr. Jack West discusses the different activating mutations within EGFR positive tumors and how they impact treatment.

Dr. Jack West, medical oncologist, reviews evidence in favor of adding Avastin (bevacizumab) to the EGFR inhibitor Tarceva (erlotinib) for patients with lung cancer that harbors an activating EGFR mutation.

An analysis of two large studies of EGFR lung cancer patients tried to determine if Gilotrif helped patients live longer.

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One of the high profile presentations in the lung cancer track at ASCO 2014 was from Dr. James Yang of a pooled analysis of the LUX-Lung 3 and LUX-Lung 6 trials, each comparing Gilotrif (afatinib) to standard chemotherapy as first line treatment of EGFR mutation-positive advanced NSCLC, which for the first time demonstrated an actual survival benefit not seen in similarly designed trials with Iressa (gefitinib) or Tarceva (erlotinib).

Every year, many of the most important developments in cancer care are presented at ASCO. This year, we've got what I think is a very important year in lung cancer, with several practice-changing results/.

Earlier this week, the FDA approved the oral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) Tarceva (erlotinib) for the approximately 10% of advanced NSCLC patients with an activating EGFR mutation in North America and Europe (approximately 30% in Asia).

Since we've come to appreciate the presence of distinct activating EGFR mutations associated with a very high probability of responding to an oral EGFR inhibitor, the question has emerged about whether there are significant differences in outcomes between the two most common ones, which are a deletion in exon 19 and a "

Hi all! I had to take a month off in July as I was forgetting what my family looked like, but am now refreshed and ready to talk (write, really) about more interesting topics in the field of lung cancer. I just returned from the World Conference on Lung Cancer in San Francisco, where Drs. West, Sanborn, and I enjoyed some great foo… I mean, learned a great deal about what is happening in the world of lung cancer.

It has become a common topic of conversation on this site (and in the lung cancer community at large) to discuss mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). However, since we frequently throw out the terms “deletion 19 mutation”, “L858R”, and “T790M”, I thought would be worthwhile to explain a little bit about the different EGFR mutations and what we know about their clinical significance.

With all this recent talk about never-smokers with lung cancer, and the interest in stories of patients with so-called “oligometastatic” cancer (minimal metastatic burden to perhaps a single site), I thought I would describe a recent case in my clinic as an illustration of how I use this information in everyday decision making. Mrs. D, a very fit 36 year-old woman with a young child at home, presented to her family doctor last year with back pain. It didn’t seem to be getting better, so her doctor ordered an x-ray of the back which showed a very nasty-looking spot in the lower spine.