News

Recently, AstraZeneca shared positive high-level results from two Phase III trials in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The ADAURA Phase III trial demonstrated an improvement in overall survival (OS) compared to placebo in the adjuvant treatment of Tagrisso® (osimertinib) for patients with early-stage epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) NSCLC. The ADAURA trial is the first trial to demonstrate a survival advantage for targeted therapy in this setting.
The AEGEAN Phase III, placebo-controlled trial for patients with resectable early-stage NSCLC showed that Imfinzi® (durvalumab) in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery and as adjuvant monotherapy after surgery demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in event-free survival (EFS) versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone followed by surgery. This means that patients may live longer without their disease progressing.

Below, LCRF’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Antoinette Wozniak, explains what these trial results mean.

ADAURA

The good news:
Patients with early stage (stages IB-IIIA) lung cancer with an EGFR mutation (EGFR exon 19 and 21, specifically) live longer if they are treated with osimertinib after surgical removal of the cancer.

Why it’s important:
This is the first trial to demonstrate a survival benefit for adjuvant targeted therapy.

The benefit to patients:
Patients with specific EGFR mutations whose lung cancer is removed live longer if treated with osimertinib after surgery.

What else we need to consider:
The trial represents a treatment advance, but there are still questions to answer. One of these unanswered questions is the length of treatment with osimertinib that is required for the maximum benefit. Another important question is whether these patients need chemotherapy as part of their treatment after surgery in addition to the osimertinib.

AEGEAN

The good news:
For earlier stage NSCLC, the combination of durvalumab (immunotherapy) and chemotherapy prior to surgery followed by durvalumab after surgery controls the cancer for a longer period of time when compared to treatment with chemotherapy alone.

Why it’s important:
The results of the trial support results seen in other similar trials utilizing neoadjuvant treatment with immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

The benefit to patients:
Patients who receive durvalumab and chemotherapy prior to surgery followed by durvalumab after surgery have better control of their disease.

What else we need to consider:
The results of the trial are promising for patients with early-stage NSCLC. However, we need to await the survival results to see if patients actually live longer because of this treatment. Other important factors to determine are the optimal length of treatment and which patients benefit the most.

Dr. Stephen Liu, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dr. Zofia Piotrowska, Massachusetts General Hospital, joined moderator Dr. Isabel Preeshagul for an overview of the topics discussed at the IASLC Targeted Therapies of Lung Cancer Meeting in feb. Watch the recording below.

Of special interest:

Presentations at the IASLC Targeted Therapies in Lung Cancer meeting typically include something about novel agents currently being evaluated. These agents can be new and improved drugs targeting oncogene-driven lung cancer or novel immunotherapy agents. This year, an entire session focused on antibody drug conjugates. ADCs are particularly of interest because of their unique mechanism of action and the recent approval of trastuzumab deruxtecan in the treatment of advanced previously-treated HER2 mutated NSCLC. Other important discussion centered around the treatment of earlier stage lung cancer, which involved results with neoadjuvant therapy prior to surgery and the use of biomarkers to help determine how long to treat patients. This development is important because there is a better chance for cure if patients can be treated effectively at an earlier stage.

Why this is significant:

The fact that there is so much clinical research activity and discovery in the treatment of lung cancer has to mean better outcomes for patients in the future. Presenters also emphasized managing toxicities associated with treatment, which can only mean a better quality of life for patients undergoing lung cancer treatment. A focus on treating cancer in the earlier stages could also mean a better chance for a cure.

What’s on the horizon:

We should expect a number of things to develop in the future. We will see results from clinical trials evaluating novel agents with the hope that they will be more effective than the drugs that are currently in common use. The science community has a great interest in developing biomarkers that will guide physicians in the treatment of patients. These biomarkers could help determine the best treatment and also how long patients should be treated. This information would be incredibly beneficial as a tool to individualize patient treatment.

Bill Mancini wants to knock out lung cancer! He is one of 32 courageous fighters from the Philly area who will step into the ring on abril 27 to compete in their first amateur boxing match. It’s all part of the inaugural Liberty Bell Brawl charity boxing event at the Fillmore Auditorium in Philadelphia. Each boxer is fundraising for a cancer charity, and Bill’s goal is to raise $50,000 for LCRF to support lung cancer research!

Buy tickets (code: MANCINI)

Make a separate donation

“I’m fighting for a few individuals, most importantly – my Uncle Don who passed away from Lung Cancer in 2013. My Uncle was a pivotal member of my large family, and he is missed every day. He had a personality larger than life in which everyone gravitated towards. When I was a teenager, he played a large role in my life supporting me through life’s obstacles and has inspired me to become the man that I am today! I know he will be in my corner on fight night, and I hope the LCRF community will come out to support my fight as all ticket sales go towards my fundraising efforts.”
Bill Mancini

Buy tickets here with promo code: MANCINI. All ticket sales will go towards Bill’s fundraising goal. If you can’t attend, you can still donate at this link.

Thank you, Bill, for your passion and support towards funding lung cancer research!

Lung cancer research grant mechanisms open for submission

NEW YORK, NY (febrero 9, 2023) – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) announced today that its 2023 funding mechanisms are now open for submission.

Following an unprecedented number of research grants awarded in a single grant cycle in 2022, LCRF has opened its 2023 Requests for Proposals, aimed at furthering its commitment to funding investigators who are dedicated to finding solutions to the most pressing issues in lung cancer, including: early detection, gaining new insights into lung cancer biology, understanding mechanisms of and finding new approaches to overcome and/or prevent drug resistance, and uncovering novel and innovative approaches to the treatment of lung cancer. The organization also aims to address inequities in the careers of investigators from underrepresented groups in cancer research.

“We are pleased to be announcing this year’s Requests for Proposals,” said Katerina Politi, PhD, Chair of LCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board, Cancer Biologist and Associate Professor at Yale’s School of Medicine. “LCRF’s unwavering commitment to funding projects that invite innovation and new ideas to address lung cancer, understand treatment resistance, tackle disparities, increase the diversity of the lung cancer research workforce and support science that seeks solutions to lung cancer’s most vexing questions is reflected in the grant mechanisms this year. LCRF’s entire Scientific Advisory Board looks forward to its review of the many proposals we will receive.”

“The LCRF Scientific Executive Committee (SEC) has made a concerted effort to develop a research roadmap that puts the patient with lung cancer at the center,” remarked Colleen Conner Ziegler, lung cancer survivor, LCRF board member and member of LCRF’s SEC. “By investing in projects that hold the promise of impact in the near term as well as the long term, we can accelerate the pace of research that will increase survivorship for people who are living with lung cancer today, giving them the gift of time.”

The LCRF Leading-Edge Research Grant, previously known as the LCRF Pilot Grants, seeks to fund innovative projects across the full spectrum of basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, health services, early detection, disparities, and social determinants of health research. This funding mechanism seeks novel ideas, approaches, methods, and techniques that promise to have a profound impact on lung cancer patients and their treatment teams.

LCRF’s Research Grant on Early Detection and Pre-Neoplasia in Lung Cancer is focused on identifying, characterizing, and developing approaches that will detect lung cancer at the earliest stages. Given the significance and need for early detection of lung cancer and advancements in screening, this funding mechanism aims to support research projects that facilitate or advance the understanding and characterization of pre-neoplasia or approaches for early detection, in non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.

The LCRF Research Grant on Understanding Resistance in Lung Cancer will focus on understanding resistance and support research projects with an emphasis on characterizing, identifying, treating, overcoming, or preventing resistance to therapies in lung tumor cells, tissues, mouse models, or patients. This mechanism will address important mechanistic questions and developmental therapeutics across the care continuum and have the potential to increase survivorship.

LCRF’s Minority Career Development Award (CDA) for Lung Cancer is a two-year career development award intended to support early-stage scientists from underrepresented groups working in lung cancer in diverse areas of research including basic, clinical, translational, disparities, and social determinants of health research. The objective of this award is to increase the number of highly skilled and trained researchers from groups that are historically underrepresented in academia, medicine, and leadership in lung cancer research. This program aims to increase representation of investigators from these groups in lung cancer research.

Each of these funding mechanisms will award $150,000 over two years for selected projects, and all mechanisms except the LCRF Minority Career Development Award will be reviewed through a two-step process: Letters of Intent will be accepted until midnight on marzo 10, 2023; if selected, investigators will then be chosen to submit full proposals following a rigorous scientific review. The LCRF Minority Career Development Award will require full proposal submission and that deadline is midnight, may 31, 2023. More details about each of the Requests for Proposal, along with eligibility, requirements, and deadlines can be found at LCRF.org/funding.

# # #

About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF)

The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 409 research grants, totaling more than $42 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information about the LCRF grant program and funding opportunities, visit LCRF.org/research.

Contact:

LUNG CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Sheila Sullivan
Sr. Director, Marketing & Communications
ssullivan@lcrf.org

LCRF has doubled down on its strategic plan to triple its research investments by 2024. Here are some of the latest developments:

New Chief Scientific Officer

LCRF has brought on its first-ever Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Antoinette Wozniak, whose tenure begins on febrero 1, 2023. Dr. Wozniak will work with LCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), senior leadership, and strategic advisors to design and execute a strategic scientific plan that fulfills LCRF’s mission. Her role will be a critical component of defining the organization’s research priorities. In addition, she will lead building and cultivation of stakeholder alliances with academic, industry, nonprofit and government entities, as well as manage LCRF’s growing grant and investment portfolio.

Scientific Executive Committee

In 2022, LCRF’s SAB formed its Scientific Executive Committee (SEC), which convened to develop its Research Roadmap to guide research investments for 2023 and the future. In doing so, SEC members determined that to truly accelerate lung cancer research, LCRF needs to expand its Requests for Proposals to include research that is more innovative and out-of-the-box: research that is broader in its approach to pressing issues such as treatment resistance for all lung cancer types, and research that will speed findings from the bench to the bedside. In addition, the SEC acknowledged that while LCRF will continue to support early-career investigators, enabling innovative research requires expanding its funding mechanisms to more experienced researchers as well as more collaborative research team efforts.

Research Roadmap

The broadened approach to research awards underlines some of the key initiatives in LCRF’s newly developed Research Roadmap:

Integrating patients into all aspects of research programs. Patients are represented on both the SAB and SEC.
Investing in novel, innovative research including early detection and understanding resistance.
Continuing support for minority investigators.
Expanding our portfolio to include more translational work and established investigators.

LCRF’s funding mechanisms for 2023 include:

LCRF Leading-Edge Research Grant
LCRF Research Grant for Early Detection and Pre-Neoplasia in Lung Cancer
LCRF Research Grant for Understanding Resistance in Lung Cancer
LCRF Minority Career Development Award

Under the leadership of Dr. Wozniak, the SAB, and the SEC, LCRF is well equipped to fund research with the potential for significant impact on patient survival, particularly in translational research.

Dr. Cardinale Smith and Dr. Isabel Preeshagul gave a wealth of information on how to effectively communicate with health care providers at enero’s #TogetherSeparately livestream. Watch the recording below.

The good news:

The FDA recently granted accelerated approved for adagrasib (Krazati, Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.) for people with metastatic or locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whose tumors contained a KRAS G12C mutation, and whose tumor was growing despite having had prior therapy. In a recent clinical study, 42.9% of people with a KRAS G12C mutation NSCLC responded to the drug.

Why it’s significant:

KRAS is the most frequently mutated oncogene (cancer-causing gene) in human cancer. Approximately 25% of people with NSCLC will have a mutation in KRAS. People with colorectal, pancreatic, and bile duct cancers also have KRAS mutations, but not as high a frequency as NSCLC. There are several different types of KRAS mutations, but mutations in KRAS G12C are the most common, occurring in about 14% of people with adenocarcinomas of the lung and in 0.5-4% of people with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

What else you should know:

Another drug (sotorasib) was approved last year for people with KRAS G12C mutated tumors. Both drugs are oral and have similar side effects, but adagrasib tends to last longer in the body. It is unknown which of the two is more effective, since they never have been directly compared.

Phase III trials show promise for patients with NSCLC

ADAURA

AEGEAN

#TogetherSeparately: 2023 IASLC Targeted Therapies Recap

Takeaways from the IASLC Targeted Therapies meeting

Of special interest:

Why this is significant:

What’s on the horizon:

Boxing in memory of a beloved uncle

LCRF announces 2023 Requests for Proposals

Lung cancer research grant mechanisms open for submission

On course for research: our true north

New Chief Scientific Officer

Scientific Executive Committee

Research Roadmap

#TogetherSeparately: Communicating with your Health Care Team

FDA grants accelerated approval to adagrasib for KRAS G12C-mutated NSCLC

The good news:

Why it’s significant:

What else you should know:

Pro soccer midfielder fundraises to honor mom

Executive Director Update