Abstract

Critical advances in the treatment of patients with lung cancer have occurred in the past few years. The cooperative groups in North America and internationally have played crucial roles in these advances. The leaders of the groups meet on a regular basis to review the progress of their trials. However, they rarely have a chance to discuss all ongoing and planned trials, except at the annual Lung Cancer Congress held each June. This article captures this exchange from the 10th Annual Lung Cancer Congress held in June 2009. Exciting efforts are ongoing for all stages of non-small-cell lung cancer, small-cell lung cancer, and mesothelioma. A major focus of the groups at this time is a push toward more personalized medicine, as reflected in the selection criteria for many of the trials, along with planned correlates to better define populations most likely to benefit. Agents targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway, including many tyrosine kinase inhibitors against the VEGF receptor, and those targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor pathway, are under extensive development with many combination trials ongoing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)395-404
Number of pages10
JournalClinical Lung Cancer
Volume10
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bevacizumab
  • Cediranib
  • Cetuximab
  • EGFR mutational status
  • Mesothelioma
  • Sunitinib
  • Vinorelbine

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