driver mutation

Smoking is the main risk factor for developing lung cancer, yet between ten- and twenty-percent of lung cancers happen in people who have never touched tobacco.  Learning about lowering your risks and improving your lung health can be lifesaving.

In observance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, host, Jonathan Fialkow, M.D. gathered a panel of experts to talk about the latest news in screenings, treatments and support for caregivers.

Guests:

• Federico Albrecht, M.D., medical oncologist with Miami Cancer Institute
• Brenda Gonzalez, M.D., pulmonologist and vice-president of the medical staff at Doctors Hospital
• Lori Adelson, workplace counsel and board member of the American Lung Association

"Saved By The Scan"
Thanks to a new scan, lung cancer can be detected early when it's more curable.  If you smoked, get scanned. To find out if you're a candidate visit Baptisthealth.net/LungScreening.

In this podcast episode, listen to lung cancer experts Joshua Bauml, MD, a medical oncologist, and Dara L. Aisner, MD, PhD, a molecular pathologist, discuss clinical considerations for patients with RET fusion–positive NSCLC, with topics including:

• Optimal testing for RET fusions
• DNA NGS vs RNA NGS
• Molecular testing workflows
• Using new selective RET inhibitors to treat patients with RET fusion–positive NSCLC
• Common toxicities with new selective RET inhibitors
• Interdisciplinary communication between medical oncologists and pathologists

Presenters:
Dara L. Aisner, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Pathology
Director, Molecular Pathology
University of Colorado
Aurora, Colorado

Joshua Bauml, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Hematology/Oncology
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Link to full program, including associated downloadable slidesets:
https://bit.ly/2Fsq9Wv

In this episode, Luis Paz-Ares, MD, PhD; D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD; and Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS, address questions on MET exon 14 testing and selecting MET-targeted therapies for patients with advanced NSCLC with topics including:

• Incorporating MET exon 14 testing into standard of care
• Comparison of RNA-based and DNA-based NGS platforms
• Availability of RNA-based NGS testing around the world
• Using FISH to quantify MET copy gain/amplification
• Regulatory and clinical differences between new, selective MET inhibitors
• Safety profiles of type I vs type II MET inhibitors
• Counseling patients on management of peripheral edema, a class effect with MET inhibitor therapy
• Insights on combining MET inhibition with immune checkpoint inhibition therapy or chemotherapy
• Selecting second-line therapy for a patient with MET exon 14–altered NSCLC progressing on tepotinib or capmatinib

Presenters:
Luis Paz-Ares, MD, PhD
Medical Oncology
University Hospital Doce de Octubre
Madrid, Spain

D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine/Oncology
University of Colorado Cancer Center
Aurora, Colorado

Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS
Professor of Medicine
Director, Division of Medical Oncology
Department of Medicine
Cedars Sinai
Los Angeles, California

Content based on an online CME program supported by an independent grant from the Healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

Link to full program, including associated downloadable slidesets:
https://bit.ly/2ExadCf

In this episode, Luis Paz-Ares, MD, PhD; D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD; and Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS, address questions on biomarking testing and the use of immunotherapy in METex14 mutation–positive NSCLC with topics including:

• Whether testing for MET  exon 14 status should be standard of care
• Parallel vs sequential testing by DNA-based vs RNA-based NGS
• Co-occurring driver mutations in patients with METex14 mutation–positive NSCLC
• Optimal use of immune checkpoint inhibitor–based therapy in the setting of METex14-positive disease, including sequencing with MET inhibitor–based therapy
• EMA regulatory considerations for the new, selective MET inhibitors tepotinib and capmatinib

Presenters:
Luis Paz-Ares, MD, PhD 
Medical Oncology
University Hospital Doce de Octubre
Madrid, Spain

D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine/Oncology
University of Colorado Cancer Center
Aurora, Colorado

Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS
Professor of Medicine
Director, Division of Medical Oncology
Department of Medicine
Cedars Sinai
Los Angeles, California

Link to full program, including associated downloadable slidesets:  https://bit.ly/2ExadCf