Tobacco exposure still accounts for 80% of lung cancer cases. (Illustration by John DiJulio, University Communications) Hoos have questions. We have answers. Read More, UVAToday So Hoos Asking Trending

In August, UVA Cancer Center became the first in Virginia to offer lung cancer patients the new drug tarlatamab, approved in May as immunotherapy to supercharge the body’s immune system to fight small-cell lung cancer in combination with chemotherapy.

The drug went through Phase 3 testing for the FDA at the Cancer Center and was one of several potential treatments investigated by the center’s researchers.

“We have a number of clinical trials at any given time for various subtypes and stages of the disease,” said Dr. Ryan Gentzler, a long-time thoracic medical oncologist at UVA Health treating patients with cancer in the chest, predominantly lung cancer.

“Some of those are early phase clinical trials developing brand-new drugs without a lot of track record, and some are later-phase trials, like in Phase 3 trials that have the potential to change the standard of care and get an FDA approval.”

UVA Today asked Gentzler about research involving lung cancer and its possible treatments.

Q. Can you contextualize lung cancer among other types of cancer?

A. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer in the United States and globally in terms of incidence. It’s second to breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men, but the mortality rate is much higher. It remains the No. 1 cause of cancer-related deaths, and 80% of cases are typically attributed to tobacco exposure. Give Where You Live, Support Our Local NonProfits. Donate Now Typically, heavier tobacco users are more likely to get lung cancer, but interestingly, about 20% of lung cancers happen in patients who have never smoked. We typically see this in younger individuals and women.

Fortunately, lung cancer rates have been dropping since smoking rates have started declining over the last couple of decades. We’ve also seen new lung cancer diagnoses dropping and survival rates improving due to advanced therapies. Q. What other trends have we seen in the past decades? A. One worrying trend is […]

Q&A: What’s Going on With Lung Cancer Research?