Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, but treatment has changed dramatically in the past decade. Many people now receive targeted drugs matched to specific mutations in their tumor, and immunotherapy has extended survival for a large fraction of patients whose cancers lack those mutations.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing new targeted drugs for less common mutations like KRAS G12C, HER2, and MET exon 14 skipping. Immunotherapy combinations are being studied earlier in treatment, and researchers are testing antibody-drug conjugates that deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells. Blood tests that detect circulating tumor DNA are being studied to catch recurrence earlier and guide treatment decisions.
KRAS G12C inhibitors
Sotorasib and adagrasib target a mutation found in about 13% of lung cancers that was considered undruggable until recently. Trials are testing them earlier in treatment and in combination with other drugs.
Antibody-drug conjugates
These drugs attach chemotherapy to antibodies that target proteins on cancer cells. Several are in trials for lung cancer, delivering treatment more precisely than traditional chemotherapy.
Early immunotherapy
Trials are testing whether giving immunotherapy before surgery shrinks tumors and prevents recurrence better than surgery followed by chemotherapy. Early results show promise for this approach.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on cancer stage, specific mutations in the tumor, prior treatments, and overall health measured by performance status.
What types of trials are currently open
- Targeted therapy trials — Testing drugs matched to specific mutations in the tumor, like EGFR, ALK, ROS1, KRAS, or HER2. These trials often require molecular testing to confirm the mutation.
- Immunotherapy trials — Testing drugs that help the immune system recognize and attack cancer, often alone or combined with chemotherapy. Some trials test immunotherapy before surgery.
- Combination trials — Testing whether combining targeted drugs, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy works better than single treatments.
- Prevention trials — Studying ways to prevent lung cancer in people at high risk, including screening programs and chemoprevention drugs.
- Biomarker studies — Using blood tests to detect circulating tumor DNA and guide treatment decisions or catch recurrence before it shows on scans.
Recently added Lung Cancer trials
Effect of Modified Arm Positioning on Shoulder Pain After Thoracoscopic Lobectomy
This study is a prospective randomized controlled trial aiming to reduce shoulder pain after lung surgery. Shoulder pain on the surgical side is common after video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy, affecting about 20%-58% of patients. It can limit coughing, moving, and sleeping, and may delay recovery. The pain may come from two sources: nerve stimulation during surgery and the prolonged arm position used during the operation. While nerve stimulation is hard to avoid, the arm position can be modified. Currently, most pain treatments rely on medications or nerve blocks given after surgery, which have side effects or risks. No one has tried to prevent the pain by changing the arm position during the operation. We plan to enroll 270 patients scheduled for thoracoscopic lung removal surgery at Chengdu Shangjin Nanfu Hospital. Patients will be randomly divided into two groups. One group will receive the standard side-lying position with arms extended on arm boards (traditional position). The other group will receive a modified position where both arms are bent at the elbows and wrapped with surgical drapes, without using arm boards (modified double-arm wrap position). Our main goal is to compare the rate of shoulder pain (on the operated side) within 24 hours after surgery between the two groups. We will also compare pain on the opposite shoulder, pain severity, time needed to set up the position, total surgery time, hospital stay, and any nerve or skin complications. This study has been approved by the Biomedical Ethics Review Committee of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. All participants will provide written informed consent. The findings may help improve intraoperative positioning and enhance early recovery after lung surgery.
Adjuvant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Versus Observation After Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy and Surgery in High-Risk NSCLC
This multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase II trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adjuvant sintilimab in patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer who remain at high risk of recurrence after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy. Approximately 100 eligible participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either adjuvant sintilimab or observation. Participants assigned to the experimental arm will receive sintilimab at a dose of 200 mg intravenously every 4 weeks for up to 1 year, unless disease recurrence or progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or another protocol-defined discontinuation criterion occurs. The primary outcome is the 18-month disease-free survival rate. Secondary outcomes include disease-free survival, overall survival, and safety. Peripheral blood and tumor tissue samples will also be collected for exploratory analyses of ctDNA, antitumor immune responses, and tumor immune microenvironment biomarkers.
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