DCI Thoracic Oncology Co-Hosts NSLC Summit

Duke Cancer Institute thoracic oncology specialists and some of their peers at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center partnered with OncLive to host a State of the Science Summit on Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) on Thursday, May 16, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

OncLive is the official website for the Oncology Specialty Group whose mission it is to provide resources and information oncology professionals need to deliver the best patient care.

About 40 NSCLC specialists, oncologists, nurses and other medical professionals from Duke, UNC, and the community attended the interactive and educational meeting, which was held at the Marriott Raleigh Crabtree Valley Hotel.

Featuring nine faculty experts, the summit covered novel treatments for non-small cell lung cancer patients, including stage 3 NSCLC, stage 4 non-squamous NSCLC, stage 4 squamous NSCLC, management of oligometastatic disease, ALK-positive NSCLC. 

Duke Cancer Institute presenters included director of the DCI Center for Cancer Immunotherapy Scott Antonia, MD, PhD, and fellow thoracic oncologists Jeffrey Clarke, MD; Neal E. Ready, MD, PhD; and Thomas Stinchcombe, MD.

Scott Antonia, MD, PhD, addressed immunotherapy's role in lung cancer treatment. "The interest in immunotherapy is because of its significant impact on the tail of the curve in lung cancer, so we had to move it up to earlier line settings," said Antonia, who presented on immunotherapy in stage 3 NSCLC.

Clarke’s talk was on optimizing the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in EGFR+ NSCLC and the role of chemotherapy upon progressive disease. He noted that anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor combinations) in EGFR+ NSCLC "improve progression-free survival, but their impact on overall survival remains less clear."

Stinchcombe tackled frontline and other treatments for ALK+ NSCLC while Ready presented updates in the management of small cell lung cancer.

The event was co-chaired by Stinchcombe, who gave opening and closing remarks, and medical oncologist Nirav S. Dhruva, MD with University of North Carolina (UNC) Rex Cancer Care.

Dhruva moderated a peer exchange panel discussion and audience Q & A featuring DCI panelists Antonia, Clarke and UNC Lineberger’s Chad Pecot, MD, and Jared Weiss, MD. 

UNC REX Cancer Care’s Jeremiah Boles, MD, moderated a “Tumor Board: Case Presentations and Q & A” session featuring DCI’s Ready and Stinchcombe and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute director of thoracic oncology and chief of radiation oncology Daniel Gomez, MD.

OncLive conducted several one-on-one interviews during the summit, which are featured on the event OncLive website and here below:

PACIFIC Study Sets New Standard in Stage III NSCLC, Opens Door to Further Progress
Features Scott Antonia, MD, PhD

Immunotherapy Advances SCLC Paradigm, But More Work to Be Done With Combos
Features Neal Ready, MD, PhD

CIRCLE PHOTO (TOP): Duke Cancer Institute thoracic oncologist Thomas E. Stinchcombe, MD, discussed advances made in ALK+ NSCLC — both frontline treatments and beyond — at the OncLive State of the Science Summit. 

Photos courtesy of OncLive SOSS Twitter