Dr. Patil on Key Developments With Targeted Therapy in Lung Cancer

Pradnya D. Patil, MD, FACP, Department of Hematology and Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, discusses recent developments with targeted therapies in lung cancer.

Targeted therapies have revolutionized the treatment of patients with lung cancer, as these approaches have served to improve survival outcomes and quality of life, Patil says. Previously, non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was treated as a uniform disease, with 1 type of cytotoxic therapy utilized in these patients, Patil adds. Now, NSCLC is understood to be heterogeneous. Therefore, histology and genomic data is now considered to select the appropriate targeted treatment for each patient, Patil notes.

Ongoing research efforts are now focused on developing agents for more difficult targets, and identifying new options for use in the refractory setting following progression on targeted therapies, Patil concludes.