L. Decoster MD, PhD

Highlights in respiratory oncology

SUMMARY

ESMO 2024 did not bring any practice changing results in the field of lung cancer treatment. Nevertheless, interesting updates from previous trials and early phase trials could impact treatment options in the future.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2024;18(8):308–310)

Molecular oncology in non-small cell lung cancer: An update

SUMMARY

The introduction of targeted therapies has dramatically changed the outcome for patients with oncogenedriven non-small cell lung cancer. Recent advances have led to the introduction of targeted therapies in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, as well as the development of new strategies to overcome resistance. The current manuscript gives an update on targeted therapies in oncogene-driven non-small cell lung cancer.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2024;18(7):253–257)

Long-term outcomes in older patients with cancer and the association with geriatric screening and assessment results

SUMMARY

Oncology care is tumour-centric by tradition, but especially in older patients, a more holistic approach is needed that takes into account each aspect of the patient’s health status and not just the tumour. Identifying areas of vulnerability with geriatric screening (GS) and/or geriatric assessment (GA) is crucial in providing patient-oriented and multidisciplinary care that is tailored to the patient’s general health status. The results of GS/GA allow the treating physician to apply clinical judgment based on an estimate of biological age to optimise cancer treatment decisions. The use of GS/GA is, however, not yet widespread in Belgian oncology practice so further evidence on what GS/GA results can contribute, particularly regarding long-term outcomes, was needed to further stimulate the systematic implementation. This study specifically aimed to explore the association between the GS (with Geriatric 8 or G8) / GA and long-term outcomes using linked clinical and population-based data from a cohort of older patients with cancer. It was demonstrated that older patients with an abnormal G8 score at cancer diagnosis had a significantly lower 10-year overall survival compared to patients with a normal G8 score. Furthermore, patients with an abnormal baseline G8 score displayed higher healthcare utilisation across primary care, hospital care, and residential care in the three years after cancer diagnosis. In deceased patients with an abnormal baseline G8 score, functional and cognitive impairment identified with GA at cancer diagnosis was associated with less specialised palliative care use in the last three months of life.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2024;18(4):160–3)

SIOG 2023: Highlights from the International Society of Geriatric Oncology annual conference

SUMMARY

The annual meeting of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) unites each year different health care workers involved in the treatment of older patients with cancer with the goal of improving personalised care. This year, recent advances in the field of geriatric oncology were discussed, including randomised controlled trials and ASCO guidelines for the implementation of comprehensive geriatric assessment.

(Belg J Med Oncol 2024;18(2):68–70)

Highlights in lung cancer

SUMMARY

Lung cancer was a hot topic at ESMO 2023 accounting for seven abstracts in the three presidential sessions.

(Belg J Med Oncol 2023;17(8):292–5)

Highlights in lung cancer

SUMMARY

The most important lung cancer news at ASCO 2023 came from the ADAURA trial, showing a significant overall survival (OS) benefit from adjuvant osimertinib in patients with early-stage EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Also in the early-stage setting, three different studies showed the clinical potential of using immunotherapy in the (neo)adjuvant treatment of non-oncogene-driven NSCLC patients. In the advanced setting, KEYNOTE-789 did not show a benefit with the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy in EGFR-mutant advanced NSCLC patients progressing on first-line anti-EGFR TKI therapy. In the same setting, two new EGFR TKIs (BLU-945 and sunvozertinib) yielded promising results. Finally, retrospective data brought further insights into the optimal treatment duration of immunotherapy and on the use of chemoimmunotherapy in older NSCLC patients.

(Belg J Med Oncol 2023;17(5):183–6)

Highlights in lung cancer

The 2022 annual ESMO meeting again featured a long list of interesting lung cancer-related abstracts, ranging from long-term updates of pivotal studies to preliminary data of studies assessing novel treatment strategies for lung cancer. This article will give an overview of the key highlights in lung cancer presented during this meeting. We are grateful to Prof. Lore Decoster, from the University Hospital Brussels, for helping us I selecting the abstracts for this overview and for providing her expert opinion on the different studies.

(Belg J Med Oncol 2022;16(8):395–403)