
Advancing Equitable Access to Targeted and Immuno-Oncology Therapies in SCLC: Angel Qin, MD
Recent clinical trials like ADRIATIC and IMforte are shaping the future of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment, explained Angel Qin, MD. She also emphasized the growing role of immunotherapy in adjuvant and maintenance therapies.
Angel Qin, MD, thoracic medical oncologist and associate professor at the University of Michigan, discussed the evolving landscape of
Qin also served as a panelist at the Detroit Institute for Value-Based Medicine (IVBM) on the session titled "
This underscores the potential of combination immunotherapy as a maintenance therapy. The discussion concluded by emphasizing the need for more effective post-chemotherapy immunotherapies and improved molecular characterization to enable personalized treatment.
This transcript was lightly edited; captions were auto-generated.
Transcript
How will the data from the ADRIATIC trial and other recent advancements specifically shift clinical decision-making processes for individual patients with limited-stage SCLC?
I think that's a really great question. The ADRIATIC study (
I think this really speaks to the fact that patients with small cell lung cancer truly do benefit from immunotherapy, and the magnitude seems to be higher when patients are at that limited stage, which is so important because that's the curative intent setting. I think it's definitely dramatically changed our standard of care, and I think there's probably going to be interest in now bringing immunotherapy to perhaps even earlier stages of small cell lung cancer.
Regarding the IMforte trial, what does the observed survival benefit signal about the role of combination immunotherapy as maintenance therapy, and how might this affect future guidelines?
We're still waiting to see whether the IMforte (
I think we're waiting to see if it will be approved. I suspect it probably will be, and I think this is something we could apply clinically. I think the safety signal of the combination is what we would probably expect. It doesn't seem to be significantly more toxic. I think there might be something worth doing with chemo immunotherapy maintenance. We kind of do that already in non–small cell lung cancer in the adenocarcinoma setting, so I can imagine having some chemo with immunotherapy; that's why it's also translating to benefit in the small cell setting.
Newsletter
Stay ahead of policy, cost, and value—subscribe to AJMC for expert insights at the intersection of clinical care and health economics.