Stage 4 Lung Cancer: Targeted therapy & Immunotherapy. Which to Start?

Not all lung cancers are of the same type, stage or treated similarly. In a nutshell... A. Targeted therapy For stage 4 lung adenocarcinoma (subset of NSCLC), further testing of EFGR and EML4-ALK mutation are routinely done in Malaysia. ROS1 rearranged mutation driver testing is not routinely done although targetable treatment is available. Those with …

Better Practice: Trimodality Treatment, 3x Improvement in Stage 3 Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Introduction Every year, there will be a certain treatment that will be the highlight of discussion and presentations in every oncology meetings/ events. Last year, it was immunotherapy durvalumab, which delivered superior results for stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); adenocarcinoma and squamous irrespective of EGFR status (wild type or mutant) irrespective of PD-L1 …

Lung Cancer: Clinical Research Data vs. Real World Data. Comparable?

In a conversation with my colleague, I was telling him that it would be nice to have more real world practice data. It would be interesting to see if results from real world practice is similar (or not) to those reported in clinical trials, which are conducted and tightly monitored for treatment effectiveness and patient …

Stage 4 Lung Cancer: How Long Can I Live? (2)

I saw a patient today with stage 4 lung cancer. He told me he has another 4-6 months to live, according to his doctor. Is it true? No Nowadays, it is not just 'stage 4' determining the survival time. Let me elaborate. I will try to keep it simple. Histology First, there is the histology …

Stage 4 Lung Cancer: How Long Will I Live? (1)

My new case today was a patient in his 50s, diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, which had spread to his liver and bones. He said he does not want any treatment and asked how long he can live. No treatment at all?! The benefits of chemotherapy treatment for stage 4 lung cancer had alredy …