Dr. Chachoua Describes Clinical Trials Evaluating Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer

Abraham Chachoua, MD, The Jay and Isabel Fine Associate Professor of Oncology, NYU Langone Medical Center, associate director, Cancer Services, Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, discusses ongoing clinical trials at NYU that are evaluating immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer.

Chachoua says one clinical trial at NYU is examining chemotherapy versus immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have never been treated before. This will help researchers determine if immunotherapy upfront is better than chemotherapy, which is currently the standard treatment.

A third-line trial is also being conducted, Chachoua says, to examine an anti-PD compound that is being made by MedImmune.

NYU is opening a trial of ipilimumab, which is currently approved for the treatment of melanoma, in patients with lung cancer. This trial will analyze radiotherapy in conjunction with ipilimumab for patients with metastatic lung cancer. The trial will determine if using the combination of the antibody with radiation will enhance the immune response to the cancer. Chachoua says the trial is based on a patient experience at the Perlmutter Cancer Center.