Stage IV
A stage in which tumors are found in both lungs; or the lung cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the brain, bones, liver, or adrenal glands
Characterization of Anti-ALK Immunologic Responses in ALK-Positive NSCLC
Intercept Lung Cancer Through Immune, Imaging & Molecular Evaluation-InTIME
The SU2C-LUNGevity Foundation-American Lung Association Lung Cancer Interception Dream Team, led by LUNGevity SAB member Dr. Avrum Spira, is developing a combination of diagnostic tools, such as non-invasive nasal swabs, blood tests, and radiological imaging, to confirm whether lung abnormalities found on chest imaging are benign lung disease or lung cancer.
Integrated Blood-Based and Radiographic Interception of Lung Cancer
The SU2C-LUNGevity Foundation-American Lung Association Lung Cancer Interception Translational Research Team, headed by LUNGevity Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) member Dr. Lecia Sequist, is developing a lung cancer interception assay (LCIA) that can be used in conjunction with low-dose CT scans. This assay will be based on an integration of several blood-based assays that examine circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA.
Overcoming heterogeneity and resistance in EGFR-mutant NSCLC
Targeted therapies have become a mainstay of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer patients whose tumors test positive for a targetable driver mutation. The EGFR mutation is one such targetable mutation. New third-generation EGFR inhibitors have recently entered the clinic and can be very effective therapies for some patients who develop resistance to first- and second-generation EGFR inhibitors. Unfortunately, we are now seeing that cancer cells can also learn how to outsmart these third-generation inhibitors, and new and more effective treatments are needed. Dr. Zofia Piotrowska is studying how lung cancer cells become resistant to third-generation EGFR inhibitors, such as osimertinib, and how the heterogeneity of EGFR-mutant lung cancers can contribute to resistance to drugs like osimertinib. During the period of this award, Dr. Piotrowska will also be conducting a clinical trial testing a novel drug combination developed to prevent or delay the development of drug resistance among patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer.
Dynamics of neoantigen landscape during immunotherapy in lung cancer
The lung cancer treatment landscape is rapidly evolving with the advent of immunotherapy. Checkpoint inhibitors, a class of immune-targeted agents, are now available in both the first-line and second-line settings for certain subsets of lung cancer patients. However, the fraction of patients achieving a durable response remains low and, even among patients who respond, the majority develop resistance. Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou is using a comprehensive approach employing genome-wide and functional immune analyses to identify mechanisms of resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. In addition, she is developing a blood-based molecular assay utilizing serial blood samples of lung cancer patients to more accurately predict response and resistance to these therapies.
Axl as a target to reverse EMT, treatment resistance and immunosuppression
Drs. Byers and Gibbons have discovered that lung cancer cells acquire the ability to hide from the immune system during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition—a process through which cancer cells develop the ability to spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). The LUNGevity award will help Drs. Byers and Gibbons study the effect of a new drug that can reverse the EMT process and make lung cancer cells more visible to the immune system.
Blood Tests for the Early Detection of Lung Cancer
Never-smokers with lung cancer represent 15% of all lung cancer patients. However, never-smokers do not undergo computed tomography (CT) for screening. Dr. Samir Hanash and his team are identifying biomarkers in the blood of low-risk people. Their ultimate aim is to develop a blood test to screen never-smokers.
Folate-related biomarkers as predictors of response to pemetrexed therapy
Pemetrexed is a chemotherapy drug commonly used for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. The drug blocks two proteins called DHFR and TS that cancer cells need to grow. Not all patients respond to pemetrexed. Dr. Alexander Whitehead is studying how changes in the DHFR and TS genes predict response of non-small cell lung cancer patients to pemetrexed.