Welcome to the fall 2024 edition of the newsletter from the NSCLC Patient Gateway— your place for the latest research and information about non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 

The lung cancer research community has been busy with two major conferences back-to-back in September— the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) held in San Diego September 7-10 and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference held in Barcelona September 13-17.

One of the biggest developments for NSCLC is that immunotherapy is becoming a treatment option for patients with early-stage disease. Earlier this month, the US FDA approved another immunotherapy-based treatment regimen for early-stage NSCLC where the tumors can be removed surgically. In this approval, nivolumab (an immunotherapy) can be combined with chemotherapy before surgery, followed by nivolumab alone after surgery to improve outcomes for patients.  

This approval adds to the growing list of immunotherapy drugs that are being used in this perioperative approach (where treatment is given before and after surgery).

Another exciting development is a drug that shows promise in patients experiencing cancer cachexia, which is the extreme loss of muscle and fat tissue (commonly referred to as "wasting") that often happens in patients with advanced cancer. These patients often lose weight without trying and have a reduced appetite. Cachexia can dramatically impact a patient’s quality of life and their ability to continue cancer treatments. Research data presented at ESMO showed a new drug, called ponsegromab, helped patients gain weight and improved their physical activity and appetite. Historically, cachexia has been very difficult to treat and we haven't had good treatment options for patients, so this news is very exciting.

There has also been a lot of buzz around a new lung cancer vaccine trial that is underway in Europe. Using the same mRNA technology that led to effective COVID vaccines, researchers have developed a vaccine that targets common markers present in NSCLC to stimulate patients' immune systems and fight cancer. The vaccines are being tested in patients with early-stage to advanced cancer.

This is also a good time to remind everyone about the large study being led by 23andMe (in collaboration with over 20 lung cancer advocacy organizations) that is looking to determine if genes passed from parents to children can influence lung cancer risk. Unlike other cancers such as breast or prostate, lung cancer hasn't traditionally been considered a "heritable" cancer. However, this large study seeks to enroll 10,000 patients to determine if there are specific genes that increase lung cancer risk.

As you can see, it's a busy time with lots of exciting new developments in NSCLC. 

Research News