How innovations are shaping the future of this disease.
Anyone who has been touched by a cancer diagnosis knows the unexpected twists and turns that it can bring. At times, it can feel hopeless, particularly for those impacted by rare or difficult-to-treat cancer types.
Andrea Ferris, President and CEO of LUNGevity Foundation, a leading lung cancer nonprofit organization, says: “Cancer is personal and affects our lives in so many ways. Witnessing my own mother’s diagnosis and death from lung cancer in 2008 inspired me to become an advocate for the oncology community, championing research in cancer care.”
The truth is that cancer is not just one disease, but a group with hundreds of different subtypes. Take lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.1 In the United States, lung cancer causes more deaths than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined.2 Lung cancer is among the most difficult cancers to treat due to its varied and complex nature,3,4 and there are several subtypes, each driven by different genetic changes in affected cells called biomarkers.5
While this can sound overwhelming, it’s because of a better understanding of these biomarkers that scientists have been able to develop medicines designed to more precisely attack cancer cells. These medicines, called targeted therapies or precision medicines, have helped patients with various types of cancers, including some types of lung cancer.6
Cancer is personal and affects our lives in so many ways. Witnessing my own mother’s diagnosis and death from lung cancer in 2008 inspired me to become an advocate for the oncology community.
Andrea Ferris, President and CEO, LUNGevity Foundation
Understanding the complexity of lung cancer
The most common type of lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC.1 One subtype is anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive, which occurs in about 3% to 5% of patients with NSCLC.7 ALK-positive advanced NSCLC is typically aggressive and often impacts younger people.8
More than 10 years ago, pharmaceutical company Pfizer was one of the first to develop a precision medicine that targets the abnormal ALK protein, marking a new treatment strategy for patients with this subtype of cancer. Unfortunately, after an initial positive response, researchers observed that many people with ALK-positive NSCLC developed resistance to the targeted therapy, meaning the drug stopped working and their cancer began to grow and spread again. What’s more, many ALK-positive patients also developed tumors in their brain, which are known as brain metastases.9
Pfizer scientists continued to study the ALK gene and how it causes cancer to grow. Based on their findings, they subsequently designed the next ALK inhibitor to help address some of these challenges and brought it to patients in four years, which is substantially less than the usual amount of time it takes to develop a new medicine.
“Cancer remains one of the most challenging health crises of our lifetime. We’ve made great strides in oncology research, but there is still so much more we need to do,” says Chris Boshoff, Chief Oncology Officer and Executive Vice President of Pfizer. “Cancer research requires persistence—you may find something that works, but you always want to keep making improvements for patients. Our decade-long journey with ALK-positive NSCLC is a great illustration of how understanding the complexity of a disease combined with drug development expertise can result in progress against cancer.”
Reaching new frontiers in research
Pfizer has continued to follow patients taking these ALK inhibitors in a clinical trial. Today, researchers are sharing their latest updates at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, showing positive results for patients after five years of treatment.
“The latest results from this clinical trial represent the scientific community’s dedication to understanding the ALK gene and highlight how important targeted medicines have become in the treatment of cancer,” Ferris says. “It’s exciting to see the journey of continued scientific research and the impact it can have for patients living with this disease.”
Pfizer says the data from these latest clinical trials are just one example of how the company is building on its expertise to develop future potential breakthroughs in cancer treatments. Today, the company is making notable investments in cancer research, with one of the largest pipelines in the industry. Pfizer is focused on developing new and innovative medicines for some of the world’s most common cancers, and it is advancing different types of technologies—such as antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies—to attack cancer from multiple angles.
“We’ve shown how we can move with urgency to deliver scientific breakthroughs that change patients’ lives,” Boshoff says. “When it comes to cancer, every minute matters. We’re focused on developing new cancer treatments swiftly and efficiently, prioritizing innovative therapies that can make the biggest impact. Our vision is a world where people with cancer live longer and better lives.”
This advertiser content has been created and paid for by Pfizer.
Neither Reuters News nor Reuters Plus, the brand marketing studio of Reuters, were involved/had a role in the production of this content.
Breaking new ground
with lung cancer research
For more information about Pfizer cancer research, visit letsoutdocancer.com
This advertiser content has been created and paid for by Pfizer. Neither Reuters News nor Reuters Plus, the brand marketing studio of Reuters, were involved/had a role in the production of this content.
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Cancer research requires persistence—you may find something that works, but you always want to keep making improvements for patients.
Chris Boshoff, Chief Oncology Officer and Executive Vice President, Pfizer
It’s exciting to see the journey of continued scientific research and the impact it can have for patients living with this disease.
Andrea Ferris, President and CEO, LUNGevity Foundation
References:
World Health Organization. Lung Cancer. www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lung-cancer. Accessed May 2024.
American Cancer Society. Lung Cancer Statistics | How Common is Lung Cancer? | American Cancer Society. Accessed May 2024.
National Cancer Institute. Develop Effective Treatments - National Cancer Plan. Accessed April 2024.
Lemjabbar-Alaoui H, Hassan OU, Yang YW, Buchanan P. Lung cancer: Biology and treatment options. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2015 Dec;1856(2):189-210. doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2015.08.002. Epub 2015 Aug 19. PMID: 26297204; PMCID: PMC4663145.
Lungevity. About ALK-positive Lung Cancer | Navigating ALK (lungevity.org). Accessed April 2024.
Zhou Z, Li M. Targeted therapies for cancer. BMC Med. 2022 Mar 11;20(1):90. doi: 10.1186/s12916-022-02287-3. PMID: 35272686; PMCID: PMC8915534.
Garber K. ALK, lung cancer, and personalized therapy: portent of the future? J Natl Cancer Inst. 2010;102:672-675.
American Lung Association. ALK and Lung Cancer | American Lung Association. Accessed April 2024.
Rangachari D, Yamaguchi N, VanderLaan PA, et al. Brain metastases in patients with EGFR-mutated or ALK—rearranged non—small—cell lung cancers. Lung Cancer. 2015;88(1):108—111 doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2015.01.020.
