WASHINGTON, DC - Investigators leading the Lung Cancer Master Protocol, or Lung-MAP trial, will present findings from three translational medicine studies at the 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer, to be held online January 28-31, 2021.
The presentations will mark the first time that investigators share translational medicine insights from Lung-MAP, the first large-scale precision medicine trial in lung cancer backed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the first major NCI trial to test multiple treatments, simultaneously, under one "umbrella" design. Since it launched in June 2014, the trial has tested 12 new lung cancer drugs. Lung-MAP has also amassed a scientifically valuable cache of data and biospecimens from 3,021 patients.
"Lung-MAP now has one of the largest collections of data and biospecimens ever gathered for lung cancer," said Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, a Yale University professor and the Lung-MAP study chair. "It's gratifying to see this asset put to use to improve our understanding of lung cancer - and find better ways to treat it."
Results from the Lung-MAP studies will be shared at the 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer, or WCLC. Organized annually by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the conference was planned for Singapore but will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WCLC is the world's largest international gathering of clinicians, researchers, and scientists in the field of lung cancer and thoracic oncology.
Here are summaries of the Lung-MAP presentations to be delivered:
To see the full abstracts for these and all WCLC presentations, visit the conference website.
Lung-MAP is a groundbreaking public-private partnership, one that includes the NCI and its National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) including SWOG Cancer Research Network, Friends of Cancer Research, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), Foundation Medicine, pharmaceutical companies which provided their drugs for the study, and several lung cancer advocacy organizations.
Since the trial is offered at more than 700 U.S. medical centers and community hospitals under the NCTN and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), Lung-MAP makes it easier for patients to receive investigational treatments to fight their non-small cell lung cancer. Lung-MAP is more flexible, and faster, than traditional clinical trial models. Where typical trials require the development of individual studies for each new drug tested, Lung-MAP uses a single "master protocol," which is amended as drugs enter and exit the trial, preserving infrastructure and patient outreach efforts. This makes Lung-MAP more efficient and cost-effective, allowing researchers to quickly answer the critical question: Does this new drug work?
Since its launch, Lung-MAP has registered more than 3,660 patients. Lung-MAP leaders have worked with 10 pharmaceutical partners, in coordination with the FNIH, to launch 13 studies, 12 of which are completed. The trial is addressing questions about the efficacy of immunotherapies and immunotherapy combinations and the validity of new biomarkers. The trial has also produced critical insights into the conduct of large-scale precision medicine trials, including tissue sampling and banking, genetic screening, and patient communication.
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About the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health creates and manages alliances with public and private institutions in support of the mission of the NIH, the world's premier medical research agency. The Foundation, also known as the FNIH, works with its partners to accelerate biomedical research and strategies against diseases and health concerns in the United States and across the globe. The FNIH organizes and administers research projects; supports education and training of new researchers; organizes educational events and symposia; and administers a series of funds supporting a wide range of health issues. Established by Congress in 1990, the FNIH is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For additional information, please visit fnih.org.
About Friends of Cancer Research
Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) drives collaboration among partners from every healthcare sector to power advances in science, policy and regulation that speed lifesaving treatments to patients. For more information, please visit http://www.focr.org .
About SWOG Cancer Research Network
SWOG was founded in 1956, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program, making it part of the oldest and largest publicly funded cancer research network in the United States. SWOG has over 12,000 members in 47 states and six countries who design and conduct cancer prevention and treatment trials. SWOG trials have led to the approval of 14 cancer drugs, changed more than 100 standards of cancer care, and saved more than 3 million years of human life. Learn more at swog.org.