Dr. Jack West, Swedish Cancer Institute, reviews the choices for a first-line chemotherapy regimen based on a squamous histology.

Dr. Jack West, Swedish Cancer Institute, addresses the issue of choosing a first-line chemotherapy regimen based on an adenocarcinoma histology.

Dr. Jack West, Swedish Cancer Institute, identifies the platinum-based chemotherapy doublet as the backbone of first-line treatment for the majority of NSCLC patients.

A Japanese study of squamous cell carcinoma showed value in nedaplatin vs cisplatin/Taxotere (docetaxel). But with differences in how Asian versus Caucasian patients metabolize chemotherapy, can we presume this benefit would exist for everyone?

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Novel immunotherapy agent atezolizumab (MPDL3280A) looks superior to Taxotere (docetaxel) in a study, specifically for patients with PD-L1. What are the implications of multiple agents with similar mechanisms of action in the same clinical settings?

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The immune checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) shows better efficacy than Taxotere (docetaxel) for advanced non-squamous NSCLC, but this was seen only in patients with PD-L1 protein expression on their tumor. Should we be using this as a biomarker?

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Research released at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting showed great promise for squamous cell lung cancer patients taking the immunotherapy drug Opdivo (nivolumab). But can we predict which patients will do well on it?

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In January, 2015, the CheckMate 017 trial of the immune checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) versus the standard chemo agent Taxotere (docetaxel) as second line therapy for patients with advanced squamous NSCLC was reported in a press release to be positive for a significant improvement in overall survival.

The REVEL trial studied 1,200 non-small cell lung cancer patients to see if the drug Cyramza (ramucirumab) improved overall surival. The doctors had mixed feelings about the results.

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We've covered the question of maintenance therapy for lung cancer in many posts over the past 5-6 years as it has evolved from a concept with little evidence to a standard of care, but it is difficult to get a good summary of the big picture. This presentation is my attempt to distill the field into the most important principles.