News

In response to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, investigators around the world channeled their efforts into acquiring a better understanding of the virus so that they could rapidly identify any weapons that may be used in the fight against its spread; this included turning to tried-and-true cancer drugs to see whether they could be repurposed to address this pressing need.

Recent progress made with messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines has led to amplified protein translation, stronger modulation of immunogenicity, and improved delivery, which has all contributed to an evolution in the application of these products in the field of cancer.

Although survivors and patients with lung cancer felt that they were involved in the treatment decision-making process, nearly half of them reported that they knew what their treatment options were before making a decision, according to results from a study presented at the 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer Singapore.

A shorter course of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has been shown to have encouraging efficacy with favorable toxicity when used in patients with high-risk prostate cancer in a multi-institutional, international setting, according to findings from a study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.

Although lung-sparing lung nodule resection in the form of lesser resection is available to some patients with lung cancer, it is critical to tailor surgical interventions based on pathologic assessment results, said Henning Gaissert, MD, who added that utilizing a multimodal approach to treatment can help alleviate some of the burden of treatment selection.

The radiographic and pathologic responses that have been seen with checkpoint inhibitors in lung cancer bodes well for the use of neoadjuvant therapy. However, the relationship between response and long-term outcomes, specifically with regard to overall survival, will have to be teased out before they become standard practice, explained David Spigel, MD.