Dr. Mohindra on the Impact of Lurbinectedin in SCLC

Nisha A. Mohindra, MD, a thoracic oncologist at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern Medicine, and an assistant professor of medicine (hematology and oncology) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses the impact of the June 2020 FDA approval of lurbinectedin (Zepzelca) in the treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). 

The approval of lurbinectedin added another option to the second-line treatment armamentarium in SCLC, according to Mohindra. SCLC has been described as a recalcitrant disease, with poor prognosis having been a problem among patients, Mohindra says. Additionally, until the approval of lurbinectedin, topotecan was the only FDA-approved option in this setting, Mohindra notes.

Interestingly, the approval came at a time when first-line treatments for SCLC were beginning to evolve and chemoimmunotherapy was being utilized more often, Mohindra explains. As such, determining the best agents to use in the second-line setting was an unanswered question. To have another approved agent in this setting opens up therapeutic options for this patient population, Mohindra concludes.