At the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO), Sandip Patel, MD, FASCO, of UC San Diego Health, San Diego, California, and Eric Singhi, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, highlighted novel agents that are being evaluated in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
The IMforte trial, for the first time, showed that lurbinectedin when combined with atezolizumab in the maintenance setting can extend survival in previously treated patients with extensive-stage SCLC.
Similarly, tarlatamab, a bispecific T-cell engager, demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival for patients with SCLC who received it in the second-line setting. The phase 3 DeLLphi-304 trial was also presented at ASCO.
“These are drugs that we have familiarity with, and kind of like good Legos we find a better way to combine them. This way we can really make sure patients get their best therapeutics early on,” Dr. Patel said.
In bringing therapies to patients earlier in their disease course, they are less likely to experience bad side effects, he added.
