Living with Small Cell Lung Cancer: Treatments & Advancements - 08/16/22 - Lung Cancer Living Ro
In this month's episode of the Lung Cancer Living Room™, Jared Weiss, MD of the University of North Carolina Cancer Center joins host, Danielle Hicks, the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer's Chief Patient Officer to discuss new treatments and advances in small cell lung cancer. They discuss the basic differences between non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, and explore why there have been so few advancements in small cell lung cancer over the last 40 to 50 years. They explain the two stages of small cell lung cancer and discuss the concept of median life expectancies related to the disease and debate the value of those statistics. Dr. Weiss reflects on how the disease was traditionally treated and shares new treatments and therapies on the horizon, including those including immunotherapies. He also looks into the topic of biomarkers as they relate to small cell lung cancer including Schlafen 11 (SLFN11). He highlights that the one thing he's most enthusiastic about that's coming to the clinic relatively soon is the new drug tarlatamab which he calls a "personalized immunotherapy" and is part of a new class of drugs called bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs). He also shares thoughts on clinical trials in general, and how to discuss and select clinical trials that would fit best for you. Finally, they discuss palliative care and emphasize that it is not hospice care, but care focused on management of pain and side effects. Furthermore, Dr. Weiss shares that "survival actually improves, not gets harmed, with palliative care" and expresses his belief that palliative care should be started "at day one". We hope small cell lung cancer patients everywhere gain hope, knowledge and deeper insight from this very informative episode.
Filmed on August 16, 2022. Edited.
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