By Andrew Ciupek,  PhD, Senior Manager, Clinical Research, GO2 for Lung Cancer and Daniel A. Saez, MSc, Navigator, Treatment & Trials, GO2 for Lung Cancer

New Hope for Patients with KRAS

Until recently, the KRAS mutation was considered un-targetable in most types of cancer, including lung cancer. May 2021 marked the approval of the first KRAS targeted therapy for one of the most common KRAS mutations, G12C – sotorasib (Lumakras). New data shows further promise.

Data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting shows further support for the efficacy of sotorasib. In the CODEBREAK 100 trial, patients with a KRAS G12C mutation received sotorasib after they had already received other treatments (such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy) and experienced a progression of their disease. A group of patients responded positively to the therapy—and this response has continued over time.

In addition to studies involving sotorasib, studies looking at the effectiveness of adagrasib show similar positive outcomes. The hope is that this provides a second option for this patient population.

New Possible Targets for Patients with Lung Cancer

Researchers at ASCO 2021 also highlighted several studies of drugs with targets not currently addressed by FDA-approved treatments. While many of these studies were for all cancer types, the results could inform further research in lung cancer. Targets for these drugs include the SHP2, HER2, NRG1, GLS1, and PARP7 mutations. Some of these drugs are intended to be effective treatments on their own; others are meant to enhance the anti-tumor activity of existing drugs.

Although the sample size for lung cancer has been too small to distinctly evaluate the efficacy of these drugs, the fact that so many new types of treatments are on the horizon and being explored should result in a new set of patients receiving more options than ever before.