Dr. David Gerber, University of Texas-Southwestern, reviews the results of the PROSE study of the Veristrat serum proteomics test to predict benefit of chemo or EGFR inhibitor for second line treatment of advanced lung cancer.

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Here's a recent video podcast I just did on the publication just out in Lancet Oncology, describing a randomized phase II study led by my friend Pasi Janne, from Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

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We've been producing a series of podcasts from our Lung Cancer Highlights from ASCO 2012 webinar, featuring Drs.

Dr. Mark Socinski covered the TAILOR trial, an Italian study directly comparing second line Taxotere (docetaxel) to Tarceva (erlotinib) in advanced NSCLC patients without an EGFR mutation, in the ASCO Lung Cancer Highlights program.

Here's another case in the recording I did with Drs. Jyoti Patel from Northwestern and Bob Doebele from University of Colorado, discussing a series of perplexing cases in lung cancer management, then combining their comments with the responses from several other terrific experts (Drs. Suresh Ramalingam, Jonathan Goldman, Julie Brahmer, Heather Wakelee, and Karen Reckamp) about the same case.

In the last decade, the treatment of NSCLC has evolved very significantly, and one of the leading ways has been that we've gone from having no established role for treatment after initial, first line therapy to having multiple agents with a proven benefit. It's worth clarifying that as maintenance therapy is increasingly being considered as an option after first line therapy, a distinction between this and second line therapy.

The historic standard for advanced NSCLC up until a few years ago was for patients to complete 4-6 cycles of platinum-based doublet chemo, and then for patients who were doing well and had responded or demonstrated stable disease to take a break from treatment and be followed until progression. At that point, many patients would re-initiate chemo or targeted therapy with an oral agent like Tarceva (erlotinib).

When I was a medical student, the question about lung cancer that was always asked on "the Boards" had to do with the difference between stage IIIA and stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The reason this question was always asked is because patients with stage IIIA NSCLC might be considered for surgery, whereas patients with stage IIIB NSCLC would not be considered for surgery and instead would be treated with chemotherapy and radiation. The idea is that young doctors should be able to make that distinction and to direct patients to the appropriate specialist/treatment.