Posted: June 2017
By Erik J. MacLaren, PhD
The Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is taking place June 2–6 in Chicago, Illinois, and over 5,000 abstracts have been accepted for presentation at the meeting or for online release. The theme of this year’s meeting is Making a Difference in Cancer Care With You, intended to foster a multidisciplinary approach and uniting the oncology community in the effort to improve cancer care. Several scientific and educational presentations of particular interest to those involved in lung cancer care and research are highlighted below.
On Saturday, June 3, an educational session titled “Prevention, Diagnostics, and Treatment of Lung Cancer in Lowand Medium-Resource Countries” will be chaired by Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, CEO of IASLC, from the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Hirsch’s research concerns the development of biomarkers for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of lung cancer, and he will give a presentation discussing biomarker testing in challenging venues with limited resources. Hisao Asamura, MD, Co-President of the 2018 World Conference on Lung Cancer and an expert in thoracic surgery from Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan, will discuss considerations in choosing between wedge or anatomical resections in patients with lung cancer. Finally, Nicola Roxon, adjunct professor at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia, and a former Minister for Health and Ageing as well as Australia’s first female Attorney-General, will discuss national policy issues in smoking cessation. The session will include a panel discussion, including by the speakers, following their presentations.
On the previous day, Friday, June 2, two lung cancer-related sessions are scheduled. The first is starting with a session called “Upfront Management of Operable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer,” chaired by Shirish M. Gadgeel, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Gadgeel, whose research is supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), will speak about treating early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with chemotherapy and targeted therapies. Thomas A. DiPetrillo, MD, from the Brown University Oncology Research Group in Providence, Rhode Island, and associate professor of radiation oncology, will also give a presentation on new radiation techniques for treatment of earlystage NSCLC. Finally, Hiran Fernando, MBBS, chief of thoracic surgery at Boston Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, will speak about advances in the surgical treatment of NSCLC.
On Friday afternoon, Melissa Lynne Johnson, MD, associate director of lung cancer research at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, will chair an extended educational session highlighting state-ofthe- art uses for immunotherapies in lung cancer, how to manage toxicities, and the role of specific patient populations. Dr. Johnson will give a presentation titled “Are All Immunotherapy Drugs the Same or Is One the Best?” Other presentations in this session will cover immunotherapy sequencing, discussed by Edward B. Garon, MD, from the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, and the role of immunotherapy in patients, presented by Ben C. Creelan, MD, from the Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Dickran Garo Kazandjian, MD, from the NCI will focus on pseudoprogression, and Hossein Borghaei, DO, from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will cover toxicity management with immunotherapies. Finally, Aaron Scott Mansfield, MD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, will wrap up the session with a presentation titled “What Is the Role of PD-L1 Biomarker Testing in Clinical Practice?”
On Sunday, June 4, there are two sessions pertaining to lung cancer. The first entitled “Incorporating Precision Medicine Into Your Practice: How, Why, and When?,” will be chaired by Lee Steven Schwartzberg, MD, from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee; he is a leader in the field of precision medicine. Edward S. Kim, MD, a specialist in lung cancer from the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, will discuss NSCLC as a paradigm for precision medicine, while Dr. Schwartzberg will speak on using molecular testing in patients with cancer to produce useful results. Finally, Deborah Schrag, MD, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, will present a talk called “Aligning Value and Precision Medicine.”
Sunday afternoon, Christopher S. Lathan, MD, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will chair a session on tobacco cessation and screening recommendations in patients with lung cancer. Irina Veytsman, MD, from PinnacleHealth Cancer Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will give a presentation on implementing realworld smoking cessation programs. This will be followed by Peter J. Mazzone, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, who will describe how to develop a lung cancer screening program, while Christopher S. Lathan, MD, will wrap-up the session by discussing engagement with patients to address disparities in lung cancer screening.
The program for Monday, June 5, contains two final sessions relevant to lung cancer. The first is chaired by Dr. Edward Kim, titled “Clinical Pathways and New Drug Approvals: Maximizing Value Without Compromising Patient Care.” Dr. Kim will give a presentation on the ways clinical pathways can influence the use of new drugs in practice. Attendees will then learn about cost-benefit analysis of expensive marginal drugs from Eric S. Nadler, MD, of Texas Oncology in Dallas, Texas. Finally, Janet Freeman- Daily, a lung cancer patient advocate from Gray Connections, will round out the session by discussing cost-benefit calculations from the patient’s perspective.
The second lung cancer-related educational session on Monday is “Lung Cancer in the Older Population: Caring for the Whole Patient,” chaired by Craig H. Reynolds, MD, from Florida Cancer Affiliates. He will speak on cultural issues impacting the care of dying patients. Corey J. Langer, MD, a professor of medicine from the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and editor of the IASLC Lung Cancer News will describe therapeutic challenges associated with interacting with older patients with lung cancer. Finally, attendees will hear Carolyn Jean Presley, MD, from the Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut, discuss the current positive environment surrounding supportive care and decision making in older patients.
Highlighted Lung Cancer-Related Abstract Presentations
Editor Note: Following is a partial list of abstract presentation sessions scheduled at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting. This is list offered for reader interest and is not inclusive of all lung cancer-related ASCO abstract presentations. Attendees of the ASCO Annual Meeting are encouraged to refer to the ASCO meeting program guide for the full range of abstract offerings.
June 3, 3 PM
Poster Discussion Session
Lung Cancer—Non-Small Cell Metastatic
Beyond PDL1: New Combinations and
Molecular Predictors
Naiyer A. Rizvi – Discussant
Columbia University Medical Center
Predicting and Overcoming EGFR TKI Resistance
Myung-Ju Ahn – Discussant
Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department
of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center,
Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine
June 4, 8 AM
Clinical Science Symposium
Old Targets, New Drugs: HER2 and MET
Abstract 8509
Efficacy, safety, and biomarker results of trastuzumab
emtansine (TDM1) in patients (pts) with
previously treated HER2-overexpressing locally
advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung
cancer (mNSCLC).
Tom Stinchcombe – First Author
Duke University
Abstract 8510
Ado-trastuzumab emtansine in patients with
HER2 mutant lung cancers: Results from a phase
II basket trial.
Bob T. Li – First Author
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Leena Gandhi – Discussant
Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU
Langone Medical Center
Abstract 8511
Impact of MET inhibitors on survival among
patients (pts) with MET exon 14 mutant
(METdel14) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Mark M. Awad – First Author
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
June 5, 8 AM
Oral Abstract Session
Lung Cancer—Non-Small Cell Local-
Regional/Small Cell/Other Thoracic Cancers
Abstract 8500
Gefitinib (G) versus vinorelbine+cisplatin (VP)
as adjuvant treatment in stage II-IIIA (N1-N2)
non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFRactivating
mutation (ADJUVANT): A randomized,
Phase III trial (CTONG 1104).
Yi-Long Wu – First Author
Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong
General
Abstract 8502
Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) versus
observation in radically treated stage III nonsmall
cell lung cancer (NSCLC): A randomized
phase III NVALT11 study.
Harry J.M. Groen – First Author
University of Groningen, University Medical
Center Groningen
Abstract 8503
Nivolumab (nivo) ± ipilimumab (ipi) in advanced
small-cell lung cancer (SCLC): First report of a
randomized expansion cohort from CheckMate
032.
Matthew David Hellmann – First Author
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Abstract 8504
Phase II study of maintenance pembrolizumab
(pembro) in extensive stage small cell lung
cancer (ES-SCLC) patients (pts).
Shirish M. Gadgeel – First Author
Karmanos Cancer Institute
Abstract 8505
Randomized trial of cisplatin and etoposide
in combination with veliparib or placebo for
extensive stage small cell lung cancer: ECOGACRIN
2511 study.
Taofeek Kunle Owonikoko – First Author
Emory University
Abstract 8506
Mature overall survival (OS) results from the
LUME-Meso study of nintedanib (N) + pemetrexed/
cisplatin (PEM/CIS) vs placebo (P) + PEM/
CIS in chemo-naïve patients (pts) with malignant
pleural mesothelioma (MPM).
Anna K. Nowak – First Author
School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and
Health Sciences,
University of Western Australia
June 6, 9:45 AM
Oral Abstract Session
Lung Cancer—Non-Small Cell Metastatic
Abstract 9000
Progression after the next line of therapy (PFS2)
and updated OS among patients (pts) with
advanced NSCLC and PD-L1 tumor proportion
score (TPS) >50% enrolled in KEYNOTE-024.
Julie R. Brahmer – First Author
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer
Center at Johns Hopkins University
Abstract 9002
Efficacy of the addition of cisplatin to singleagent
first-line chemotherapy in elderly patients
with advanced non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC): A joint analysis of the multicenter, randomized
phase III MILES-3 and MILES-4 studies.
Cesare Gridelli – First Author
A.O.S.G. Moscati
Abstract 9004
Efficacy and safety results from AvaALL: An
open-label, randomized phase III trial of standard
of care (SOC) with or without continuous
bevacizumab (Bev) treatment beyond progression
(PD) in patients (pts) with advanced nonsmall
cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progressing after
first-line Bev and chemotherapy (chemo).
Jaafar Bennouna – First Author
Institut de Cancerologie de l’Ouest
Abstract 9005
CNS response to osimertinib in patients (pts)
with T790M-positive advanced NSCLC: Data
from a randomized phase III trial (AURA3).
Tony Mok – First Author
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Abstract 9006
Efficacy and safety of lorlatinib in patients (pts)
with ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
with one or more prior ALK tyrosine kinase
inhibitor (TKI): A phase I/II study.
Alice Tsang Shaw – First Author
Massachusetts General Hospital
Abstract LBA9008
Alectinib versus crizotinib in treatment-naive
advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC): Primary results of the global
phase III ALEX study.
Alice Tsang Shaw – First Author
Massachusetts General Hospital
Next-Generation TKIs Move Up to First
