Lung Cancer

Transcript: John V. Heymach, MD, PhD: For KRAS- mutant patients as a whole, there's clearly a role for PD-1 inhibitors. That can be either PD-1 inhibitor monotherapy or PD-1 plus CTLA4, like the CheckMate 227 regimen with ipilimumab and nivolumab or combinations of chemotherapy with immunotherapy. It's important to point out that within KRAS, we think of different subgroups that are defined in 2 different ways. On the 1 hand, they're defined by the KRAS allele like KRASG12C orG12D. On the other hand, you can also divide KRASbased on the co-occurring genomic alteration, like KRAS with STK11, KRAS with KEAP, or KRAS with TP53 . Among those subgroups, when KRAS mutations have a co-occurring TP53 mutation, they seem to respond well to immunotherapy. In fact, when we looked at monotherapy for PD-1 inhibitors, the response rate was over 35% if they had KRAS with TP53, but it was much lower if they had KRAS with any other alteration. TP53 was associated with a better response...

Targeted therapy is one of several new scientific approaches to treating cancers, including lung cancer. Doctors may recommend this approach if your lung cancer cells have certain targets that medications can work on. You can think of targeted therapies like specialized magnets drawn to cancer cells that will ignore healthy cells. Keep reading to learn more about how doctors prescribe targeted therapies to treat lung cancer, their side effects, and cost considerations. Before targeted therapy to treat lung cancer, a common lung cancer treatment approach was taking one or more chemotherapy medications. Chemotherapy works by killing rapidly multiplying cells, such as cancer cells. However, chemotherapy medications can kill other rapidly dividing cells, such as hair cells. Targeted therapies work to kill cancer cells by a different method: keeping the cells from growing and dividing. The therapies target proteins specifically inside cancer cells that "tell" the cancer cells to m...

In extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), IMpower133 improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the etoposide/carboplatin plus atezolizumab (ECT) combination, but the absolute benefit was modest. For a study, researchers sought to determine if the expressive status of Yes-associated Protein 1 (YAP-1) might be used to screen most ES-SCLC patients for immunotherapy. They enrolled 21 patients with ES-SCLC who got an ECT treatment and whose formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded material was attainable from January 2018 to July 2021 at the institution. The effectiveness assessment criteria of solid tumor (RECIST) version 1.1 were used to determine complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR), disease stable (SD), and progressing disease (PD). YAP-1 (ET1608-30, 1/100) was studied using immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC Profiler was used to calculate the H-score. SPSS 22.0, X-tile 3.6.1, and Excel evaluated all statistical analyses. Statistical significa...

Uveal melanoma (UM) is an intraocular malignancy with poor survival rates due to the propensity for metastatic spread. Although treatment options exist for localized disease, there are fewer definitive guidelines for metastatic UM. Treatment involves a personalized approach that entails patient-specific aspects, including tumor genetics. This case highlights the disease course of a 60-year-old male diagnosed with stage IIB right eye choroidal melanoma. Despite successful therapy for localized UM, he developed widespread metastasis. He received dual immunotherapy and was ultimately maintained on a single-agent regimen. His prognosis has surpassed initial prognosis and survival expectations. This case highlights the use of immunotherapy, both dual and single therapy, to treat this rare malignancy and extend overall survival. Introduction Melanomas of the choroid, ciliary body, and the iris of the eye are collectively known as uveal melanomas (UMs). UM is the most common primary...

Long-term survival was equivalent for patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whether treated with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) or surgery, according to updated results from a prospective study. In an analysis of an additional 80 patients with medically operable, stage IA NSCLC treated with SABR, the overall survival (OS) rate was 91% at 3 years and 87% at 5 years, reported Joe Chang, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology . In comparison, OS following video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection (VATS L-MLND) in a similar cohort of early-stage NSCLC patients was again 91% at 3 years and 84% at 5 years. Progression-free survival (PFS) rates at 3 years were also similar between the two groups, at 80% for the SABR-treated patients and 88% for the surgically treated patients. At 5 years, these rates were 77% and 80%, respectively. "Long-term results of this ...

June is Men's Health Month—make sure you know the warning signs of cancer June 22, 2022 Author: Sarah Barber Prostate, lung, colorectal and skin cancers are the most common cancers diagnosed among men, and one of the best weapons in fighting cancer is prevention through screening — a service that men can access at McLaren Greater Lansing. "The best way to prevent cancer is to catch it early before it causes symptoms," said Tomasz Stankiewicz, DO, physician at McLaren Greater Lansing Southside Medical Center. "I do this during wellness visits, which is the time when I get to know my patient, including their medical history, family history, and risk factors for cancer development. You cannot wait until you have symptoms. Cancer must be caught and treated early to have a better chance of recovery." Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that around one in eight ...

Though more cases are likely undiagnosed, over 15 million people in the United States have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 37 million are estimated to have chronic kidney disease (CKD). A substantial number of people have both COPD and CKD. Why is this, and what does it mean if you have both conditions? Before we dive into the potential connection between these two conditions, it's important to understand what COPD and CKD are. COPD is a group of progressive lung diseases. The most common of these diseases are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Emphysema is an irreversible condition that slowly destroys the air sacs in the lungs. This reduces the amount of oxygen that enters the bloodstream and the elasticity of the lungs. Bronchitis causes inflammation and narrowing of the bronchial tubes. This restricts the amount of air that can come into the lungs. Both emphysema and chronic bronchitis are frequently present in people with COPD. COPD makes it hard to breathe....