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Cancer research

Personalized Medicine in Lung Cancer Treatment Shows Promise

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers have made significant strides in understanding the complex genetic underpinnings of lung adenocarcinoma, a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. A recent study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics underscores the potential of personalized medicine in treating patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. By analyzing the effects of co-occurring genetic alterations on outcomes following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), the study sheds light on the critical factors that influence patient survival and intracranial progression-free survival.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study included 195 patients with KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma, treated with SRS for brain metastases between 2014 and 2018, with follow-up until 2022 or death.
  • Median overall survival (OS) and intracranial progression-free survival (iPFS) for the cohort were 27.7 months (95% CI, 19.7-36.8) and 22.1 months (95% CI, 16.8-48.9), respectively.
  • Coalteration of KRAS and KEAP1/STK11 was associated with inferior overall survival (OS), but not intracranial progression-free survival (iPFS).
  • Inferior OS was also associated with extracranial disease, 6 or more brain metastases at diagnosis, and chemotherapy before SRS.
  • Positive programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) status was associated with improved OS (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.37-0.87; P = .01).
  • KRAS G12C was not associated with differences in iPFS, OS, or type of intracranial progression event following SRS.

Statistics:

  • Median follow-up from the date of brain metastasis diagnosis was 11 months.
  • Lesion-level local control at 12 and 24 months was 89.9% and 87.5%, respectively.
  • Median OS and iPFS for the cohort were 27.7 months and 22.1 months, respectively (95% CI, 19.7-36.8 and 16.8-48.9, respectively).
  • Inferior OS was associated with coalterations in KEAP1 and STK11 (hazard ratio [HR], 1.94; 95% CI, 1.04-3.62; q = 0.087).
  • Positive PD-L1 status was associated with improved OS (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.37-0.87; P = .01).

Sources:

  • NewsRx. Investigators from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Target Personalized Medicine (Intracranial Disease Control and Survival Among Patients With kras -mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma and Brain Metastases Treated With Stereotactic ...). Cancer Weekly. July 1, 2025; p 426.
  • International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics. Intracranial Disease Control and Survival Among Patients With kras-mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma and Brain Metastases Treated With Stereotactic Radiosurgery. 2025;122(2):424-434.

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