In the annual Research Round Up series, members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) answer the question, “What was the most exciting or practice-changing research in your field presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting?” In this episode, 3 Cancer.Net Associate Editors discuss new research from the meeting presented in non-small cell lung cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Ewing sarcoma, and neuroblastoma.

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Progress in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Dr. Charu Aggarwal

Dr. Charu Aggarwal, the 2022 Cancer.Net Associate Editor for Lung Cancer, discusses 3 studies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). First, she discusses findings from a phase 1/2a clinical trial that was evaluating a new drug called CLN-081 for treating people with advanced NSCLC with an EGFR exon 20 insertion mutation. [3:53] Next, Dr. Aggarwal describes the phase 1/2 KRYSTAL-1 clinical trial, which was studying the targeted therapy drug adagrasib for people with advanced NSCLC with a KRAS G12C mutation. [5:06] Finally, she discusses the phase 2 Lung-MAP clinical trial, which was testing whether the combination of the immunotherapy drugs pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and ramucirumab (Cyramza) helped people with advanced NSCLC if initial immunotherapy did not stop the cancer. [7:28]

New research in treating subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Dr. Christopher Flowers

Dr. Christopher Flowers, the 2022 Cancer.Net Associate Editor for Lymphoma, discusses several studies in treating 2 subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. First, he discusses 2 studies in mantle cell lymphoma. The first study, called the phase 3 SHINE clinical trial, was evaluating whether adding the immunotherapy drug ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to standard treatment slowed mantle cell lymphoma from growing or spreading in people aged 65 or older. [12:01] The second study, which was a 3-year follow-up of the phase 2 ZUMA-2 clinical trial, observed whether a type of CAR T-cell therapy called brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus) slowed the cancer from growing or spreading in people with recurrent or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. [13:25]

Next, Dr. Flowers discusses 3 studies in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The first study, called the phase 3 POLARIX clinical trial, was studying whether a treatment called pola-R-CHP, which is the combination of the targeted therapy drugs polatuzumab vedotin (Polivy) and rituximab (Rituxan) with the chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide (available as a generic drug), doxorubicin (available as a generic drug), and prednisone (multiple brand names), helped slow cancer growth better than the standard treatment in people with double-expressor DLBCL, which is a type of aggressive lymphoma. [14:26] The next study was a phase 2 clinical trial that evaluated the immunotherapy drug glofitamab for treating people with recurrent or refractory DLBCL. [16:22] Last, Dr. Flowers discusses a phase 1/2 clinical trial that was observing whether adding the immunotherapy drug epcoritamab to standard treatment was safe to use for people with newly diagnosed DLBCL. [17:00]

Studies in childhood Ewing sarcoma and neuroblastoma

Dr. Daniel Mulrooney

Dr. Daniel A. Mulrooney, the 2022 Cancer.Net Associate Editor for Pediatric Cancers, discusses 4 studies: a study in Ewing sarcoma and 3 studies in neuroblastoma. First, he discusses the phase 3 rEECur clinical trial, which was studying whether the high-dose chemotherapy ifosfamide (Ifex) lengthened the amount of time until the cancer came back or got worse in people with recurrent or refractory Ewing sarcoma compared to 3 other commonly prescribed chemotherapy treatments. [20:15]

Next, Dr. Mulrooney discusses 3 studies in neuroblastoma. The first study, called the phase 2 BEACON clinical trial, was studying whether adding the immunotherapy drug dinutuximab beta (Qarziba) to chemotherapy shrunk the tumors or delayed tumor growth in people with recurrent or refractory neuroblastoma. [24:21] Then, he discusses a pilot study from the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) that studied adding immunotherapy to chemotherapy earlier in the treatment plan for high-risk neuroblastoma. [25:28] Finally, he discusses a retrospective study from COG observing how race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status impact survival in children with high-risk neuroblastoma. [27:11]

Disclosure information for Dr. Aggarwal, Dr. Flowers, and Dr. Mulrooney can be found in their individual biographies linked to in the paragraphs above.

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