Understanding Lung Cancer Trial Results and Their Treatment Impact

Dr. Jacob A. Sands, who is a physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, sat down for an interview with CURE at the IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss how patients with lung cancer should interpret early results from clinical trials. He also highlighted how these findings translate to real-world treatment decisions.

Additionally, Sands is the associate chief of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology and the oncology medical director of the International Patient Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as serves as an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, all in Boston, Massachusetts.

Transcript

How should patients interpret early results from clinical trials, and how do those findings translate to real-world treatment decisions?

The early data in these studies can be very encouraging, but it doesn't necessarily represent the complete truth. You get to that truth with bigger trials. With the field moving so fast, it's really important to get very rapid trial enrollment and rapid trial data. The way that sometimes works out is by having a lot of that data done in one country. We might say, "OK, in that one country, this is what we have from the early data," but sometimes that's not going to translate globally. At the same time, when you have big global trials, their outcomes don't necessarily translate specifically to what's happening in one country, either. Each country has its own systems with its own benefits and flaws, certainly.

The challenge, I guess, is for an oncologist to take that population-level data and distill it down to what matters for an individual. To more specifically answer your question, as we see these early-stage trials, we get a directional sense of whether it looks like it works and what the general side effects are. Then, in the bigger trials, we have to see where half of the patients get the study drug, and half get the standard of care.

Just to clarify, no one is getting a placebo. I know that's a common concern from patients about going into a trial, that they risk getting nothing. That's not what happens. Everyone gets the best therapy we know of. But it's important to understand this because, in many cases, these clinical trials are great opportunities for patients. It's important that patients are aware of these different trials because, in some scenarios, they are so promising that they represent a better treatment opportunity than some of the standard-of-care options. So for anyone watching this who has or knows someone with small cell lung cancer, getting an evaluation at a center that runs a lot of these trials is really important. It's not just for future patients. This is about what's the best option for you right now, and hopefully, this treatment works for you and then goes on to help other people.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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