ALK inhibition, guidelines, liquid biopsies, and immunotherapy

Table: NCCN guidelines recommendations [9].



Another subject Dr Mascaux discussed was the development of liquid biopsies, which determines the presence of circulating tumour cells in the blood [10]. This diagnostic tool is easy for both patient and doctor. In the AURA3 and FLAURA studies with osimertinib, tumour cells in the blood and in the tissue showed a high concordance with respect to their molecular biology. “However, a negative blood test could be false negative, so a tissue sample should still be analysed.”

Immunotherapy

Next to targeted therapies, another important development in the treatment of lung cancer, is that of immunotherapy. These drugs are directed either against PD-L1 which is expressed on T-cells, or PD-1 on tumour cells [11]. “In some patients, immunotherapy results in a durable response which can endure years after stopping the drug”, stated Dr Mascaux. “The more mutations are present in the tumour (i.e. higher mutational load), the better the response to immunotherapy. We need better biomarkers to predict the sensitivity for immunotherapy. Furthermore, combination therapy is needed to combat the heterogeneity of the tumour.”