On July 2, 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the accelerated approval of sunvozertinib (Zegfrovy®) to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations (exon20ins). These mutations are found in approximately 2% of patients with NSCLC. Sunvozertinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets EGFR exon20ins in patients whose tumors have started to grow again after chemotherapy. The FDA approval is supported by data from a phase 2 clinical trial, WU-KONG1B, a multinational trial, that studied

When a person is treated for advanced-stage lung cancer, tumors will often shrink, and their symptoms may subside. An effective treatment will kill many tumor cells, but there are usually some cells (called drug-tolerant persister cells, or DTPCs) left behind. If these cancer cells survive treatment, they will eventually begin to grow again. Researchers have been making progress in understanding how DTPCs grow and, importantly, how that growth can be stopped. As we learn more about these cells, we get closer to eliminating lung cancer relapse and saving lives. Investing in Cutting-Edge

On June 23, 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk (Datroway® or Dato-DXd) to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mutations in the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene. This approval is for patients who have been previously treated with an EGFR-directed therapy and chemotherapy. This ADC, or antibody-drug conjugate, is designed with two key elements. One part of the treatment binds specifically to the TROP-2 protein on the surface of cancer cells. The other part of the

Michelle knew what was wrong. She knew the headaches, regular vomiting, ear popping, and “whooshing” sounds in her head were all signs of leptomeningeal disease (LMD). The issue, however, is that LMD is so rare—only diagnosed in 5% of people with cancer—she had to advocate for the testing to prove it. “I called my clinic and said I needed a brain MRI because I think I have LMD. They didn’t want to schedule one, so I said, tell my doctor I’m demanding a brain MRI. I can tell him directly if I need to,” says Michelle. Leptomeningeal disease, or LMD, occurs when cancer from somewhere in the body

Historically, approaches to treating lung cancer included surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The past decade ushered in a new era of treatments with targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Now, we are seeing the emergence of another class of lung cancer treatments called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), that are a combination of targeted therapy and chemotherapy. ADCs act like a “smart chemotherapy” that aim to deliver the drug compound directly to cancer cells, reducing harm to healthy tissue. As part of LUNGevity’s International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference last September, we hosted an

What Is Integrative Oncology? Integrative oncology is the use of complementary therapies alongside conventional lung cancer treatments like chemotherapy, targeted therapy, surgery, or immunotherapy. Integrative oncology—also called integrative medicine—is an evidence-informed whole-body approach to health. It is often used to address symptoms and side effects caused by disease or treatment and improve overall quality of life. Specific examples of integrative oncology for lung cancer include: Acupuncture or massages to address pain or nausea Exercise to reduce pain and improve overall quality

Surgery is a treatment option for early-stage lung cancer that involves removing all or part of a lung to treat a cancerous tumor. It is primarily an option for people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staged at I, II, or IIIA. Surgery is rarely considered for tumors at stage IIIB or IV because those lung cancers have spread to other parts of the body. It is also rarely used to treat small cell lung cancer (SCLC) because SCLC is typically diagnosed at a later stage. Types of Lung Cancer Surgery Once the medical team decides someone’s lung cancer is resectable (able to be removed by

Roughly 20% of lung cancer is diagnosed as early-stage disease, and researchers have been working to improve treatment options for these patients—with significant success. Last September, as part of LUNGevity’s International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference, we hosted a session on the progress in treating early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with Dr. Jarushka Naidoo of Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre in Ireland and Dr. Amy Moore of LUNGevity Foundation. In October, after this session took place, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of an immunotherapy drug

Read time: 2 minutes. Here we present the final video in our three-part series about how patients and researchers can work together to develop clinical trials. In the video below, LUNGevity again partnered with Rising Tide for Clinical Cancer Research to illustrate the power of having patients contribute to the research process. We use a real-world example to learn about patient-researcher collaborations through the POSITIVE study, a breast cancer-focused clinical trial. You can watch the entire video, or use the timestamps below. Make sure to watch parts 1 and 2 of this series here: How Can

Read time: 2 minutes. We are pleased to continue our three-part series about how patients and researchers can work together to develop clinical trials. In this second video, LUNGevity again partnered with Rising Tide for Clinical Cancer Research to show how researchers and patient advocates can be empowered with tools to create clinical trials that resonate with patients and address the key issues they care about. If you missed the first video, How Can Patients and Researchers Design Clinical Trials Together, you can watch it here. Watch Part 2 below, or use the timestamps to skip to a