On April 5, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the accelerated approval of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu®) to treat patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive solid tumors.

This treatment is part of a growing trend of tissue-agnostic drugs -- treatments that are prescribed based on the biomarkers found in the tumor rather than the organ where the cancer originated.  

In the past five years, the lung cancer community has seen an astonishing number of new treatments. As our understanding of lung cancer has deepened, the older treatment approaches have also become more effective and efficient.  

These options are fantastic steps toward improving the overall survival and quality of life for people living with lung cancer, but it can be difficult for patients and caregivers to keep track of the new drug treatments and scientific advancements.  

Asking your doctor and medical team questions about clinical trials is a helpful way to decide if they are a good fit for you. You may already have some in mind, but a few basic questions to ask and get answered before making a decision are:

The four phases of lung cancer clinical trials each serve a different and important purpose. From testing the safety of a new treatment to its effectiveness and long-term outcomes, this short video explains how researchers use clinical trials for new lung cancer treatments.

Phases of a Clinical Trial:

1. Safety of the new treatment 
2. Does the cancer respond to the treatment 
3. Is this new treatment better than the current options 
4. Studies the long-term benefits and side effects

On November 15, 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of repotrectinib to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).  

Repotrectinib is part of a class of drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, or TKIs, which have been beneficial for many patients with oncogene-driven lung cancers. TKIs are a type of therapy that specifically targets changes in genes that are known to promote tumor growth.

Lung cancer clinical trials are carefully designed research studies to evaluate and learn more about new drugs and treatments. They give people the ability to participate in lung cancer research and access to new treatments that otherwise may not be available to them, all under the close supervision of medical experts. 

The International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference (ILCSC) is a free virtual educational conference for people with lung cancer, caregivers, and advocates. The 2023 conference was held September 22-23.  

The recorded sessions from this conference are available to registered participants through December 21, 2023, at www.lungevity.org/ilcsc. If you did not register for the conference but would like to view the recordings, you may still register for free access. The recordings are available until December 21.

While participating in clinical trials can provide substantial benefits to people with lung cancer, the resources required to do so may pose significant hurdles, especially to those who don’t live close to where trials are held, such as academic medical centers or major oncology network sites. Decentralized clinical trials remove some hurdles to trial participation for patients and are thus important for improving trial access for larger and more diverse groups of people. The U.S.

Join us for a discussion on lung cancer biomarkers to learn what biomarker testing is, why it’s important, and how it can be used to optimize your treatment plans. We are thrilled to welcome our panelists: Balazs Halmos, MD, a thoracic medical oncologist from Montefiore Medical Center in New York; Elizabeth Ravera, a patient navigator at Montefiore; and a patient living with lung cancer who tested positive for the ALK biomarker. The panel is moderated by LUNGevity's Amy Moore, PhD, VP of Global Engagement and Patient Partnerships.

Clinical trials are an important option for patients because the newest treatment approaches, not available otherwise, are being tested in them. Clinical trial research leads to more advancements and potential treatment options, and the therapies used today were once tested in clinical trials. Continued progress is only possible if patients with lung cancer volunteer to participate in the clinical trial process.