Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FACP, FASCO, a visiting professor of medicine and associate director of clinical research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), as well as the director of the Lung Cancer Disease Unit and co-director of the UPMC Lung Cancer Center of Excellence, discusses optimizing the use of immunotherapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Many ongoing research efforts are examining which patients are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy, according to Wozniak. This is important, as many patients with NSCLC who are treated with this modality may not achieve clinical benefit, Wozniak says.

Another area of focus is identifying why some patients do not respond to treatment, or stop responding entirely, as well as whether utilizing 2 immunotherapy agents that target 2 different pathways will be useful in overcoming mechanisms of resistance or acquired resistance. The field hopes to answer these questions in the coming years, Wozniak concludes.

Videos

Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FACP, FASCO, discusses optimizing the use of immunotherapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

Dr. Wozniak on Optimizing the Use of Immunotherapy in NSCLC

Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FACP, FASCO, associate director of clinical research, and medical oncologist, at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses sequencing with immunotherapy and chemoradiation in select patients with stage III lung cancer.

Current standard practice in this specific setting includes giving immunotherapy after chemoradiation, typically after patients recover from the chemoradiation treatment, explains Wozniak. In previous trials, patients who were able to receive immunotherapy sooner after chemoradiation often responded better, but that group of patients could have been in better shape, says Wozniak.

Ongoing studies are examining giving chemoradiation concurrently with immunotherapy to see if patients respond better, according to Wozniak. Additionally, some ongoing neoadjuvant studies are looking at potentially resectable patients who will receive either immunotherapy or immunotherapy plus chemotherapy prior to surgery, Wozniak concludes.

Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FACP, FASCO, discusses sequencing with immunotherapy and chemoradiation in select patients with stage III lung cancer.

Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FACP, FASCO

Articles

Dr. Wozniak on Optimizing the Use of Immunotherapy in NSCLC

Dr. Wozniak on Sequencing Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer