Best Practices and Research Advances in Thoracic Oncology: A Regional Series LATAM Course 2: Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer-When to Incorporate Radiation Therapy?

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Claudio Solé, a radiation oncologist from Chile, discussed advancements in thoracic oncology at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. He highlighted the evolution of radiation therapy, noting its underrepresentation in medical education and improvements since the 1970s, allowing precise targeting and reduced toxicity. Focusing on stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer, he traced the history from sole radiotherapy to current standards combining chemotherapy, showing improvements in survival rates. Recent trials suggested definitive concurrent chemo-radiotherapy since 2012 as the standard, but new research explores optimal chemotherapy regimens and radiotherapy dosing. Solé mentioned the PACIFIC trial, which demonstrated improved progression-free and overall survival with durvalumab after chemo-radiotherapy without affecting quality of life, pushing it as a standard post-treatment. He concluded that while durvalumab concurrent with chemo-radiotherapy showed no additional benefit, new radiotherapy approaches might enhance outcomes, pending further research.

Asset Subtitle

Claudio V. Sole, MD, MSc, PhD

Keywords

thoracic oncology

radiation therapy

non-small cell lung cancer

chemo-radiotherapy

durvalumab

PACIFIC trial