Tag Archives: non-small cell lung cancer

ALK-positive lung cancer – antibodies to fusion protein

Approximately 7% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) possess a transgene that results from an inversion of chromosome 2 that juxtaposes the 5’ end of the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) gene with the 3′ end of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene, resulting in the novel fusion oncogene EML4-ALK . Continue reading

PD-L1 Inhibitor, avelumab, approved for Merkel cell carcinoma

Avelumab (Bavencio) is a PD-L1 inhibitor that was approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Continue reading

Tagrisso is superior to platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with relapsed lung cancer following front-line anti EGFR therapy

Tagrisso (osimertinib) is a kinase inhibitor indicated for patients with metastatic epidermal growth factor T790M mutation-positive lung cancer. It was approved under accelerated approval provisions in November 2015 on the basis of phase 2 trials demonstrating a combined overall objective response rate of 59%. Continue reading

Combination Therapy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors to Combat Lung Cancer – James P. McCauley, Contributor

Researchers at AstraZeneca have completed a small-scale study which demonstrated the synergistic benefit of utilizing two immunotherapy drugs to combat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) over just a single immunotherapy drug. The study found that utilizing an immune checkpoint inhibitor for PD-1, called durvalumab, in combination with another immune checkpoint inhibitor for CTLA-4, called tremelimumab, had a tumor response rate of 23% for metastatic NSCLC. Researchers at AstraZeneca are, indeed, confident that combination immune checkpoint therapy is the key to developing more efficient immunotherapies to target and effectively treat cancer. Continue reading

Bavituximab – Novel Checkpoint Inhibitor in Phase 3

Bavituximab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to phosphatidyl serine (PS), a molecule this is expressed in the inner side of the cell membrane. The drug is being developed by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and is in a late stage trial called SUNRISE –  A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Multicenter Trial of Bavituximab Plus Docetaxel Versus Docetaxel Alone in Patients With Previously Treated Stage IIIb/IV Non-Squamous Non Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Continue reading