Dr. Kris on Adjuvant Systemic Therapy in NSCLC

Mark G. Kris, MD, medical oncologist, William and Joy Ruane Chair in Thoracic Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses adjuvant systemic therapy in patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

There is a huge need for better systemic therapy in patients who are completely resected and are at risk of recurrence, Kris says. There is significant activity addressing this unmet need in clinical trials, but in 2018, these are all future data. Currently, Kris notes, every patient who is able to receive chemotherapy should receive it. The standard of care in this space is a cisplatin-based regimen. Additionally, every patient who is eligible for radiation should be considered for it. Therapies available today should be used to their potential.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors have changed the way physicians treat patients with targetable mutations, such as EGFR. This is something that should be considered for patients with oncogene-driven tumors, Kris concludes.