The Year in Lung Cancer: CT Screening, More Targeted Therapy
The Year in Lung Cancer: CT Screening, More Targeted Therapy
In 2014, researchers continued their development of therapeutic antibodies that block the programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and PD-L1, including AMP-224 (Amplimmune), BMS-936559 (Bristol-Myers Squibb [BMS]), MEDI4736 (AstraZeneca), nivolumab (Opdivo, BMS), pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck), and pidilizumab (CureTech). "All of these agents have been shown to be beneficial in people with lung cancer and they are marching toward approval," said Dr Kris.
Although only a minority of patients respond to these agents, the drugs can have dramatic and long-lasting responses in some patients. "These agents all have significant activity in a minority of patients with lung cancer, and the most exciting part is that many responses are very durable," said Dr West. "In the range of 20% of patients will have very prolonged responses going into years, leading us to wonder whether they might be permanent responses. The PD-1 inhibitors tend to be well-tolerated therapies and are being evaluated as single agents and in combination with chemotherapy and targeted therapy. These agents have yet to be approved in lung cancer, but their growing results continue to provide tremendous momentum."
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
In 2014, researchers continued their development of therapeutic antibodies that block the programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and PD-L1, including AMP-224 (Amplimmune), BMS-936559 (Bristol-Myers Squibb [BMS]), MEDI4736 (AstraZeneca), nivolumab (Opdivo, BMS), pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck), and pidilizumab (CureTech). "All of these agents have been shown to be beneficial in people with lung cancer and they are marching toward approval," said Dr Kris.
Although only a minority of patients respond to these agents, the drugs can have dramatic and long-lasting responses in some patients. "These agents all have significant activity in a minority of patients with lung cancer, and the most exciting part is that many responses are very durable," said Dr West. "In the range of 20% of patients will have very prolonged responses going into years, leading us to wonder whether they might be permanent responses. The PD-1 inhibitors tend to be well-tolerated therapies and are being evaluated as single agents and in combination with chemotherapy and targeted therapy. These agents have yet to be approved in lung cancer, but their growing results continue to provide tremendous momentum."
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