StemCell Therapy

First Targeted Therapy For Lung Cancer With KRAS

For the first time, there may be an effective treatment option for people with lung cancer that contains a genetic mutation called KRAS. The results of a groundbreaking using a drug calledSotorasib have just been published in the highly-respected New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Roy Herbst, Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale tells SurvivorNet We are excited we have a drug that could work in these patients. The fact that tumors respond to this therapy is a big deal.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the united states. The most common form of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has recently seen major advancements with new treatments such as immunotherapy and targeted therapies extending the lives of thousands of patients. However, despite these recent advancements little has been available to help patients who have lung cancer with a KRAS mutation. This mutation is found in approximately 10-12% of patients with NSCLC and any drug that can improve the outlook for these patients would be a game-changer for lung cancer.

Now we finally have targeted therapy options for these patients.

In patients who have advanced stage or metastatic NSCLC most patients will have their tumor tested for genetic abnormalities or biomarkers to help their doctors select what treatments are best. Some common biomarkers such as EGFR and PDL1 have medications that doctors can use to target the lung cancer and improve a patients survival and quality of life. Despite this, one biomarker that has never had a treatment is KRAS. KRAS is a mutation that occurs in some patients with NSCLC and is generally associated with poor outcomes. One reason this mutation is considered a bad risk factor is that unlike other mutations such as EGFR there has never been a drug approved to treat this type of lung cancer.

Fortunately, for patients, this may be changing soon. A new drug called Sotorasib that specifically targets the KRAS mutation recently showed positive results in the early phase CODEBREAK 100 study. Based on the results from the early phase study Sotorasib was granted Break Through Therapy Designation and the drug has been accepted into the Real-Time Oncology Pilot Review Program by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When discussing the trial, Dr. Velcheti, Director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program at NYU Langone says The CODEBREAK 100 trial represents the clinical validation of significant research efforts spanning decades. Now we finally have targeted therapy options for these patients.

Overall I am impressed with this drug. It is hard for the public to understand just how far drug development has come.

So what does this mean for patients? This means that the new drug targeting KRAS may soon be available for patients whose tumors harbor this mutation and who have not responded to other treatments.

Lung specialists from across the country were eager to speak with SurvivorNet regarding the exciting news. Dr. Brendon Stiles, Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center tells SurvivorNet Overall I am impressed with this drug. It is hard for the public to understand just how far drug development has come. The KRAS mutation has long been considered undruggable, meaning if you have this mutation, there was not a medicine designed specifically to treat this type of cancer. The chance of responding to the new therapy is around 40%. Although, researches would prefer to see this percent be higher the results of the study give hope that future therapies may have even better outcomes. Dr. Herbst is also optimistic about the future of drugs targeting KRAS and thinks the results of this study opens up a whole new world for lung cancer. If you or a loved one have NSCLC with a KRAS mutation ask your doctor about what treatment options are best for you.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Dr. Roy Herbst, Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale tells SurvivorNet We are excited we have a drug that could work in these patients. The fact that tumors respond to this therapy is a big deal.

Now we finally have targeted therapy options for these patients.

In patients who have advanced stage or metastatic NSCLC most patients will have their tumor tested for genetic abnormalities or biomarkers to help their doctors select what treatments are best. Some common biomarkers such as EGFR and PDL1 have medications that doctors can use to target the lung cancer and improve a patients survival and quality of life. Despite this, one biomarker that has never had a treatment is KRAS. KRAS is a mutation that occurs in some patients with NSCLC and is generally associated with poor outcomes. One reason this mutation is considered a bad risk factor is that unlike other mutations such as EGFR there has never been a drug approved to treat this type of lung cancer.

Fortunately, for patients, this may be changing soon. A new drug called Sotorasib that specifically targets the KRAS mutation recently showed positive results in the early phase CODEBREAK 100 study. Based on the results from the early phase study Sotorasib was granted Break Through Therapy Designation and the drug has been accepted into the Real-Time Oncology Pilot Review Program by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When discussing the trial, Dr. Velcheti, Director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program at NYU Langone says The CODEBREAK 100 trial represents the clinical validation of significant research efforts spanning decades. Now we finally have targeted therapy options for these patients.

Overall I am impressed with this drug. It is hard for the public to understand just how far drug development has come.

So what does this mean for patients? This means that the new drug targeting KRAS may soon be available for patients whose tumors harbor this mutation and who have not responded to other treatments.

Lung specialists from across the country were eager to speak with SurvivorNet regarding the exciting news. Dr. Brendon Stiles, Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center tells SurvivorNet Overall I am impressed with this drug. It is hard for the public to understand just how far drug development has come. The KRAS mutation has long been considered undruggable, meaning if you have this mutation, there was not a medicine designed specifically to treat this type of cancer. The chance of responding to the new therapy is around 40%. Although, researches would prefer to see this percent be higher the results of the study give hope that future therapies may have even better outcomes. Dr. Herbst is also optimistic about the future of drugs targeting KRAS and thinks the results of this study opens up a whole new world for lung cancer. If you or a loved one have NSCLC with a KRAS mutation ask your doctor about what treatment options are best for you.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Here is the original post:
The First Targeted Therapy For Lung Cancer Patients With The KRAS Gene MutationExtraordinary Results With Sotorasib - SurvivorNet

This entry was posted on February 1, 2021 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Genetic medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |