Low-fat diets may help lower lung cancer risk, particularly in smokers
“The relationship between obesity and cancer is clear, and researchers have also been interested in investigating whether there is a similar link between diet and cancer risk. The role of smoking in causing lung cancer has been firmly established for decades but other lifestyle factors have received less attention. A large observational study of older adults in the United States has shown that a low-fat diet is associated with a lower risk of lung cancer, and a high-fat diet is associated with a higher risk of lung cancer in smokers.”
Double lung transplants weren’t typically recommended for lung cancer patients. But a new technique developed at Northwestern has been successful.
“For decades, double lung transplants were not considered a viable option for treating lung cancer. “It had been done, but it had always failed,” said Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery at Northwestern Medicine. “When you took out the lungs, the cancer cells would spread to the rest of the body, and it would come back a matter of months after the transplant.””
Lung cancer in Asian American women: Don’t be a statistic (never smoked)
“May is AANHPI Heritage Month so it’s a good time to share again my journey from nonsmoker to lung cancer survivor. It is such an important issue to bring awareness to this little-known and potentially deadly health disparity because, according to the 2020 census, 6.2 percent or 20.6 million people identify as AANHPI (Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander).”
Despite Progress, ADCs Still Stalled in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
“With antibody-drug conjugates well established in liquid tumors, companies are pivoting their focus to treating solid tumors, such as those of the breast, prostate and lung. If ADCs can be a viable treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is particularly challenging given its resistance to chemotherapy and radiation, it could be a significant treatment advance with huge market potential.”
Datopotamab deruxtecan showed clinically meaningful overall survival improvement vs. chemotherapy in patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer in TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial
“High-level overall survival (OS) results from the TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial, which previously met the dual primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), numerically favoured datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) compared to docetaxel in the overall trial population of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with at least one prior line of therapy. Survival results did not reach statistical significance in the overall trial population. In the prespecified subgroup of patients with nonsquamous NSCLC, datopotamab deruxtecan showed a clinically meaningful improvement in OS compared to docetaxel, the current standard-of-care chemotherapy.”
What Should Be Done When a Patient’s Lung Cancer Screening Benefit Is ‘Marginal’?
“Patients with multimorbidity and limited life expectancy are often “unaware of their higher risk of downstream harm” when accepting lung cancer screening (LCS), according to new research.”
Nivolumab Betters Event-Free Survival vs Chemo in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
“The inclusion of perioperative nivolumab (Opdivo) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy delivered improvements in event-free survival (EFS) compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings from the phase 3 CheckMate 77T trial (NCT04025879).”
Atezolizumab/Cabozantinib vs Docetaxel in Previously Treated Metastatic NSCLC
“As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Joel Neal, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III CONTACT-01 trial has shown no significant improvement in overall survival with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor atezolizumab (multiple targets, including MET, AXL, VEGFR2, RET, and FLT) plus the monoclonal antibody cabozantinib vs docetaxel after checkpoint inhibitor treatment and chemotherapy in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).”
ALINA Trial: Adjuvant Alectinib Improves Survival vs Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in ALK-Positive NSCLC
“As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Yi‑Long Wu, MD, of Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, and colleagues, the phase III ALINA trial has shown significantly improved disease-free survival with adjuvant alectinib vs platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with resected ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).”
ASCO Issues Updated Guidelines for Stage IV NSCLC With and Without Driver Alterations
“Given the number of identified health disparities, the guidelines emphasize clinician awareness of treatment challenges in different populations and suggest that both health-care providers and health care systems should strive for high-quality care for vulnerable populations.”
Body Composition Changes Linked to Poor NSCLC Outcomes
“Loss in skeletal muscle (SM) and changes in density of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in male patients and female patients, respectively, have now been linked to a greater likelihood of poor outcomes following chemoimmunotherapy for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings from 3 studies published online today in JAMA Oncology.”
Affimed Announces Positive Early Efficacy and Progression Free Survival Results of AFM24-102 Study in EGFR Wild-Type Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2024
“In 15 response-evaluable patients with metastatic EGFR wild-type NSCLC, who were pretreated with platinum doublet chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors, the combination of AFM24 and atezolizumab led to a disease control rate of 73.3% (11/15), including 4 objective responses (1 complete and 3 partial responses). As of the March 18, 2024 data cut-off, the median progression free survival was 5.9 months and 3 of 4 responses were ongoing.”
Study Finds Significant Inequalities in Lung Cancer Mortality in United States
““Our findings revealed significant lung cancer mortality inequalities in the [United States], based on demographic factors,” Dr. Soin and colleagues concluded. “By contextualizing these mortality shifts in the previous 22 years, our goal is to provide a larger framework of data-driven initiatives for societal and health policy changes for improving access to care, minimizing health care inequalities, and improving outcomes.””
