Dr. Denham on Hyperprogression in Patients With NSCLC

Claude Denham, MD, Baylor Medical Center, discusses the manifestation of hyperprogression in patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have been treated with immunotherapy.

When asked whether there is enough research on hyperprogression in patients treated with immunotherapy to warrant concern, Denham explains that he has observed it, and that it is not fully understood by the oncology community. Denham recalled a patient in which he saw the trajectory of their cancer change markedly after their first dose of immunotherapy.

Hyperprogression in patients treated with immune agents is rare, but one of the challenges physicians have in patients with lung cancer is that many of them have a lot of smoking-related co-morbidities that make separating out the more non-specific inflammatory events of immune therapy with hyperprogression or autoimmune-related adverse events somewhat complicated.