2024 State of Lung Cancer: The Hopes and Hurdles of Precision Oncology with Jacob Sands, MD

Today, a patient given a lung cancer diagnosis frequently has a vastly different journey in their care compared to patients diagnosed decades ago. This is due to the initiation of low dose lung cancer screening and the growth of newer therapies, some of which include targetable mutations and immunotherapy.

During the latest episode of Lungcast, host Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association (ALA), spoke on the monthly respiratory health podcast series with Jacob Sands, MD, about targeted mutations and this aspect of precision oncology’s fundamental change to how clinicians diagnose and treat lung cancer.

Sands is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a thoracic medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Sands touched on the evolution of lung cancer treatment, highlighting the effect of low-dose lung cancer screening, the development of targeted therapies, and the value of biomarker testing.

The biomarker testing described by Sands included EGFR, ALK, and BRAF mutations, as well as the role of next-generation sequencing in identifying these. During the discussion, Sands and Rizzo highlighted the fact that, despite targeted therapies’ higher rate of response, there can be resistance which develops.

Given this resistance, Sands also expressed that further testing may be warranted. Later in the discussion, he also addressed the challenges of insurance coverage for biomarker testing. The pair highlighted that only 15 states require biomarkers, adding that there may be a need for better integration of testing across healthcare settings.

Overall, their discussion detailed the American Lung Association’s recently-released 2024 “State of Lung Cancer” report, with insights into actionable targeted mutations. Sands and Rizzo spoke on the ways in which precision oncology is fundamentally changing lung cancer diagnosis and treatment as well as related elements such as the fact that many patients face issues with insurance coverage.

Lungcast is a monthly respiratory news podcast series hosted by Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, and produced by HCPLive.

Subscribe to Lungcast on Spotify here, or listen to the episode below.