The Growing Role of Precision Medicine Across Lung Cancers
Key Points
- The LIBRETTO-432 study showed that adjuvant selpercatinib improved event-free survival (EFS) for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with RET alterations.
- Tarlatamab is likely to enter the treatment paradigm for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) pending positive results from the DeLLphi trial series.
At the Advancements in Oncology event from the Oncology Brothers podcast, Arthi Sridhar, MD, of UT Southwestern, and Stephen Liu, MD, of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, briefly discussed notable trials in both NSCLC and SCLC from the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
The LIBRETTO-432 study showed that adjuvant selpercatinib significantly improved EFS versus placebo for patients with stage IB to IIIA RET–positive NSCLC. LIBRETTO-432 and trials in EGFR and ALK subsets like ADAURA and ALINA showcase the value of targeted therapies for NSCLC. Selpercatinib and other novel targeted therapies are likely to mirror the paradigm that was established for osimertinib in EGFR–mutated lung cancer after the LAURA trial, said Dr. Liu.
Shifting to discuss SCLC, the doctors reiterated the impact of the phase 3 IMforte trial, which established lurbinectedin and atezolizumab maintenance therapy for patients with extensive-stage SCLC. In a similar vein, tarlatamab, a bispecific T-cell engager, is being evaluated in both maintenance and first-line treatment settings in the ongoing DeLLphi trial series. As tarlatamab is expected to yield a significant benefit in the maintenance setting, the next question for researchers may be how oncologists should choose between the IMforte and DeLLphi regimens for patients with SCLC, said Dr. Liu.