Dr. Patel on Immunotherapy Landscape of Stage IV NSCLC

Jyoti D. Patel, MD, professor of medicine, director, Thoracic Oncology, University of Chicago Medicine, discusses current immunotherapy options in stage IV non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Oncogenic drivers such as EGFR, ALK, and ROS1 are actionable targets for patients with advanced NSCLC. Additional targets such as MET and RET are emerging; however, the majority of patients do not harbor an actionable target, says Patel.

Patients who do not harbor an actionable target generally receive frontline immunotherapy. The decision comes down to whether to use immunotherapy alone or with a chemotherapy backbone. Factors that are taken into consideration include biology, tumor markers, disease burden, and patient preference, concludes Patel.