Scientific dream team to tackle deadly lung cancer

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer there is, but progress in its treatment has been painfully slow.

So on Friday, Stand Up To Cancer and the American Cancer Society announced a $20 million dream team tasked with making some headway against the disease, which is expected to afflict 221,000 people and kill 158,040 this year alone.

“The time is ripe for a new attack on lung cancer, especially given recent advances in cancer immunology and immunotherapy,” said Phillip A. Sharp, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and chairman of SU2C’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

“We have a real chance to make headway against this terrible disease,” he said.

The team, which will involve researchers from eight institutions, will be led by Dr. Jeffrey A. Engelman, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jedd Wolchok, chief of the Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, is co-leader.

The project will focus on targeting mutant KRAS gene lung cancer.

“Mutations in the KRAS gene are found in 20 to 25 percent of lung cancer patients,” Engelman said. “Drugs targeting mutated KRAS pathways in other cancers are being developed. We plan to use them in combination with immunotherapies to have a dramatic impact on patient outcomes.”

“We will apply immunological approaches to lung cancer in combination with targeted therapies,” said Wolchok, “and we think this combined approach can bring about durable, long-term remissions.”

The two groups will provide up to $10 million each over three years. Another $5 million will come from Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Dr. Joseph Leveque, head of U.S. Medical-Oncology for Bristol-Myers Squibb, said lung cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers and one of the most difficult to treat.

“Immuno-oncology research is showing great promise to potentially improve survival for lung cancer patients,” he said, “and we are proud to support Stand Up to Cancer on this endeavor.”