Dr. Forster on Next Steps With Lurbinectedin in SCLC

Martin Forster, MD, a medical oncologist, University College London Hospitals, discusses the next steps with the investigational agent lurbinectedin in combination with doxorubicin as a second-line therapy for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

In a multicenter, phase Ib, 3+3 dose-escalation study, data presented at the 2018 World Conference on Lung Cancer showed longer follow-up from a data set looking at the progression-free and overall survival of lurbinectedin plus doxorubicin. The preliminary data from this early-phase trial led to the development of the phase III ATLANTIS study, which is now closed to recruitment. The study is investigating lurbinectedin with doxorubicin versus investigator’s choice of either cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and vincristine or topotecan. Results are anticipated sometime in early 2019, Forster says.

The world of clinical trials and management of lung cancer is rapidly changing with the evolving role of immunotherapy, making the development of other agents quite difficult, he adds. This is especially true since the standard of care continues to change. A challenge is setting the role of lurbinectedin in these changing standards. However, the role of immunotherapy has been less promising in the second-line setting, he concludes. Therefore, this could position lurbinectedin nicely in the second-line setting.