First Sites Initiated for Lung Cancer Mutation LEADER Trial

The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (LCMC), part of the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF), has initiated trial sites at USC Norris Cancer Center, University of California-Davis, University of Michigan, and University of Washington for its fourth study, LCMC4 Evaluation of Actionable Drivers in EaRly Stage Lung Cancer (LEADER). LEADER will examine targeted drugs given as single agents and combinations as neoadjuvant therapies matched to specific genetic mutations.

Together with matched industry-sponsored therapeutic trials, the LEADER trial aims to develop data that will support oncologists in their targeted treatment planning for cancer patients prior to surgery by screening for eleven actionable driver mutations in patients. The trial is now open for enrollment and is expected to include more than twenty trial sites, with investigators from across the country.

"This effort is an important next step to expand the benefits of targeted treatment to patients with early-stage lung cancers. Comprehensive genomic profiling offers critical insights that allow oncologists to select the best treatments for each individual person. We are eager to see how the results of this study can impact patient care," says Mark G Kris, MD, Attending Physician, Thoracic Oncology Service, Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and one of the investigators of the LEADER trial.

Additionally, a new "Trial in Progress" abstract will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting on Monday, June 6 by Dr Kris and Boris Sepesi, MD, FACS, Associate Professor, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Principal Investigator of the LEADER Trial. They will detail LEADER's primary objective of determining the proportion of resectable NSCLC patients within the trial who possess actionable oncogenic drivers. Results from comprehensive genetic profile testing will inform the LEADER trial sites on their selection of neoadjuvant therapy and enrollment onto independent therapeutic trials with genomically matched neoadjuvant treatment, standard therapies, or other trials if no driver is detected.