Dr. Morgensztern on Impact of Immunotherapy on NSCLC Field

Daniel Morgensztern, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine, Oncology Division, Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discusses the monumental impact that immunotherapy has had on the field of non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Years ago, researchers would not have dreamed that such a treatment would be available for these patients, Morgensztern explains. Immunotherapy started to become a hard focus in 2012, when the first clinical trial was published. At that point, it was unknown how long the responses to treatment would last, but there was little toxicity and interesting activity observed.

When the 5-year follow-up with nivolumab (Opdivo) monotherapy was published in 2015, which had a 3-year survival at 27% with the 3 mg/kg dose, the community knew this would be a significant treatment in the landscape—though, it required some improvements, he adds.