It's been over two years since I reported the details from a positive trial for Abraxane (albumin-bound paclitaxel) as a weekly treatment combined with carboplatin and compared with standard "solvent-based" Taxol (paclitaxel) along with carboplatin.  While positive for showing a 8% difference in response rate, which was the primary endpoint, it didn't show a significant difference in overall survival (OS), as revealed in the

The IPASS trial that randomized never-smoking Asian patients with a previously untreated advanced lung adenocarcinoma to either standard chemo with carboplatin/Taxol (paclitaxel) or the oral EGFR inhibitor Iressa (gefitinib) was a pivotal study that changed how many of us thought about NSCLC.

The initial or "first line" management of advanced NSCLC has evolved quite a bit over the past 10 years, in that time moving from a much more uniform approach of very similar treatment for just about everyone to a revised approach that is far more individualized. First, we assess key issues like the subtype of NSCLC, focusing largely on whether it is squamous cell or non-squamous NSCLC, because treatment tends to diverge very early based on this factor.

The third and final part of my conversation with Drs. Tom Hensing from North Shore Health System in Chicago and David Jackman from Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston covered a presentation of an Asian never-smoking woman with an advanced lung adenocarcinoma, the demographic picture most closely associated with potentially but not necessarily having an EGFR mutation or ALK rearrangement.

The second part of my conversation with Drs. Tom Hensing from North Shore Health System in Chicago and David Jackman from Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston covered a case of a relatively young, generally healthy woman diagnosed with a lung adenocarcinoma that turned out to be stage IV.

Three months ago, I discussed the press release from Abraxis reporting that the phase III trial of carbo/Abraxane (nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel) vs. carbo/taxol (paclitaxel) showed a significant benefit for higher response rate in the Abraxane arm. Carboplatin was given one day every three weeks, as was taxol, and Abraxane was given every week (no break).

Introduction: Why Chemotherapy?

I'm very pleased to offer the excellent podcast produced from the recent webinar by Dr. Suresh Ramalingam, a leader in the lung cancer field who heads the Thoracic Oncology Program at Emory University in Atlanta. He's also a good friend I've known since our fellowship training days, and he was kind and generous enough to refuse the honorarium we offered for his participation, instead requesting that it be donated back and used for other GRACE programs. Instead, he was happy to do this entirely out of a commitment to the lung cancer community.

This is a continuation of the round table format, discussing real life case management with my colleagues who are lung cancer experts at other institutions, This case is the second half of discussion centered around a never-smoking Asian woman who doesn't have an EGFR mutation, and specifically the decision-making process of what first line chemotherapy-based treatment to recommend and whether to continue with maintenance therapy. My guests for the discussion are Drs.

Here is the first podcast of what we plan will be an ongoing series of round table discussions with cancer experts about real case scenarios and how we make decisions in practice. My guests for the discussion are Drs. Janessa Laskin, medical oncologist from British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, BC, and Alan Sandler, medical oncologist and Director of Hematology/Oncology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.