A second interim analysis of the phase 3 ALTA-1L trial shows that brigatinib demonstrates superior results in patients with advanced ALK inhibitor-naive ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with crizotinib. Crizotinib is not the most effective therapy for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC, as disease progression occurs frequently in the central nervous system, possibly due to poor drug penetration. In previous phase 1/2 trials, brigatinib, a next-generation ALK inhibitor with ...
The FDA has granted accelerated approval to capmatinib (TabrectaTM, Novartis) for adults with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mutations that lead to mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14 skipping. In addition, the FDA approved the FoundationOne® CDx (F1CDx) assay (Foundation Medicine, Inc.) as a companion diagnostic. Approval was based on the phase 2 GEOMETRY mono-1 trial (NCT02414139), a multicenter, nonrandomized trial evaluating capmatinib in patients with MET ex...
Although lung cancer screening can help to save lives, it is not without significant risks. Patients need to be given information about both benefits and risks so that they can make an informed decision regarding whether to undergo screening. However, an analysis of screening program websites has now shown that many provide a biased, overly positive perspective of screening rather than a well-balanced portrayal of risks and benefits. The National Lung Screening Trial found that screening with lo...
In patients with previously untreated, metastatic, non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pembrolizumab plus pemetrexed-platinum has proven to be an effective treatment compared with pemetrexed-platinum alone in increasing the proportion of patients who experience a complete or partial response, as shown in the KEYNOTE-189 study. Based on the results of this study, the FDA recently approved a new indication for pemetrexed in this combination for the first-line treatment ...
A new study finds an association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution and deaths from nine different causes, including cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, dementia, and lung cancer, among others. Furthermore, 99% of PM2.5-associated deaths were linked to levels of PM2.5 exposure currently deemed acceptable by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations. Atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, PM2.5, is ...