WCLC 2021 | Targeted therapies in lung cancer

Bruce Johnson, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, outlines the timeline of targeted therapy approvals in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The introduction of precision medicine to lung cancer began with the observation of a link between EGFR mutations and response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in 2004. The last 5 years have seen a dramatic increase in the variety of genomic changes that have approved targeted therapies available. These include ROS1, NTRK and RET rearrangements, and BRAF V600E and MET exon 14 skip mutations. Most recently, 3 agents have been approved in 2020: selpercatinib and pralsetinib for RET rearranged lung cancer and capmatinib for those with MET exon 14 skip mutations. This interview took place during the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) virtual meeting 2021.