VIDEO: Lung cancer expert reviews ASCO late-breaking trials

CHICAGO — In this video, Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS, division chief of thoracic medical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses the clinical implications of two late-breaking abstracts in lung cancer that were presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

The first trial Borghaei reviews — KEYNOTE-001— showed that pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) was safe and significantly increased 5-year OS among patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The greatest benefit was observed in those with higher PD-L1 expression.

“Because we are able to talk about really long-term survival in patients with metastatic NSCLC, I think the data has significance and it should be discussed and paid attention to,” Borghaei, who is also Gloria and Edmund M. Dunn chair in thoracic oncology, told HemOnc Today. “I think the challenge is to identify the right patients for these drugs.”

The second study that Borghaei discusses focused on expanding clinical trial eligibility for patients with advanced NSCLC. The results showed that including patients with brain metastases, previous or concurrent cancers, and limited kidney function would nearly double the percentage of patients eligible for enrollment in clinical trials from 52.3% to 98.5%.

“We seem to have really redundant or unnecessary criteria,” he said. “Making clinical trials a little bit more inclusive is something that everybody wants to see. I think it helps a wider range of our patients and I think it is a good thing for both cancer care and for clinical trial development.”

References:

Garon EB, et al. Abstract LBA9015. Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; May 31-June 4, 2019; Chicago.

Harvey RD, et al. Abstract LBA108. Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; May 31-June 4, 2019; Chicago.

Disclosure: Borghaei reports receiving consultant and steering committee fees from Merck.