lung cancer Archives
Newer targeted therapy prolongs life for lung cancer patients
Aug. 13, 2020—Patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer treated with ensartinib fared better and lived longer than those who received crizotinib, according to results of a phase 3 study.
Iams honored by National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Jul. 30, 2020—Wade Iams, MD, MSCI, assistant professor of Medicine, is the recipient of a National Comprehensive Cancer Network Foundation Young Investigator Award.
Criteria for lung cancer screens may be expanded
Jul. 23, 2020—The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.
ASCO press program highlights COVID-19 outcomes in lung cancer patients
May. 26, 2020—People with thoracic cancers sickened by COVID-19 were especially vulnerable to deaths with a 35% mortality rate, according to early results from TERAVOLT, a global consortium that tracks outcomes among this vulnerable patient population.
Study finds AI can categorize cancer risk of lung nodules
May. 7, 2020—by Tom Wilemon Computed tomography scans for people at risk for lung cancer lead to earlier diagnoses and improve survival rates, but they can also lead to overtreatment when suspicious nodules turn out to be benign. A study published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates that an artificial intelligence strategy can correctly assess and categorize these indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs). When compared to the conventional risk models clinicians currently use, the algorithm developed by the team of researchers in a very large dataset (15,693 nodules) reclassified IPNs into low-risk or high-risk categories in over a third of cancers and benign nodules. “These results suggest the potential clinical utility of this deep learning algorithm to revise the probability of cancer among IPNs aiming to decrease invasive procedures and shorten time to diagnosis,” said Pierre Massion, MD, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Medicine at Vanderbilt University, the study’s lead author. Currently, clinicians refer to guidelines issued by the American College of Radiology and the American College of Chest Physicians. Adherence to these guidelines can be variable, and how patient cases are classified can be subjective. With the goal of providing clinicians with an unbiased assessment tool, the researchers developed an algorithm based on datasets from the National Lung Screening Trial, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Oxford University Hospital. Their study is the first to validate a risk stratification tool on multiple independent cohorts and to show reclassification performance that is significantly superior to existing risk models. With IPNs, clinicians are often faced with the dilemma of weighing whether to advise a patient to undergo an invasive surgical procedure, which may be unnecessary, against a watch-and-wait strategy, which may result in delaying needed cancer treatment. A definitive diagnosis of an IPN can take up to two years. Better assessment tools are needed by clinicians as screenings for patients at risk for lung cancer increase. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and globally. The overall five-year survival rate is 21.7%, but it is much greater (92%) for those patients who receive an early diagnosis of stage IA1 non-small cell cancer. n
Study tracks genomics of lung tumor behavior
Apr. 9, 2020—A study by Vanderbilt researchers has identified genomic alterations in early stage adenocarcinomas of the lung that may indicate whether the lesions develop into aggressive tumors.
Advocacy group’s gift boosts lung cancer research efforts
Feb. 13, 2020—An advocacy group for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive lung cancer has awarded a $500,000 grant dedicated to overcoming treatment resistance to the cancer.
High fiber, yogurt diet associated with lower lung cancer risk
Oct. 28, 2019—A diet high in fiber and yogurt is associated with a reduced risk for lung cancer, according to a study by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.
Clinical study tests drug that may prevent cancer metastasis
Jul. 8, 2019—A clinical study of a drug that may block cancer metastasis is currently enrolling patients at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
Health disparity for blacks exists within lung screening guidelines
Jun. 27, 2019— by Tom Wilemon The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines that determine which smokers qualify for CT scans exclude significant numbers of African Americans who develop lung cancer, a health disparity that merits modifications to lung cancer screening criteria, according to a study from Vanderbilt researchers. “Among smokers diagnosed with lung cancer, 32%...
Immunotherapy helping 87-year-old man stay on the job
Jun. 6, 2019—Nine years after being diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, Roszell Mack Jr., 87, still goes into the office every day thanks to a durable response to the immunotherapy pembrolizumab.
Lung cancer survival signal
Nov. 29, 2018—A receptor thought to be a cell growth inhibitor actually sends pro-survival signals in small cell lung cancer and is a candidate biomarker for poor prognosis.
