Shirish Gadgeel, MD, Discusses Key Takeaway From the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer

Pharmacy Times® interviewed Shirish Gadgeel, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Henry Ford Cancer Institute, on his takeaway on the most important and impactful data presented at the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in San Diego.

Attendees of the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer walk to the next session at the convention center in San Diego, California. Image Credit: © Jon Benjamin Photography

Pharmacy Times: What were some notable presentations at the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer?

Shirish Gadgeel, MD: I think the most important, or the most surprising dataset that impressed me the most was the randomized phase 3 [HARMONi-2/AK112-303] study [NCT05499390] of ivonescimab (SMT112; Summit Therapeutics) vs pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) in patients with PD-L1–positive [PD-L1 tumor proportion score ≥1%] advanced non-small cell lung cancer. I was aware of the press release that said that the study was positive, but I was quite impressed that the hazard ratio is 0.5 or in some subsets less than 0.5. The question is, since this was a China-only study, [if we] have a confirmatory second study in a more global population, do the results hold up? But to me that could be a standard of care changing trial going forward.