Non-small cell lung cancer: Recommendations for biomarker testing and treatment

Abstract

Updates to the NCCN Guidelines for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) for 2021 include recommendations for biomarker testing in all appropriate patients with newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer, including squamous cell lung cancer. When a targetable genetic alteration is detected, the NCCN Guidelines recommend treatment with a first-line therapy targeted to that alteration. The guidelines contain new information on use of adjuvant treatment with osimertinib for resected early-stage EGFR-mutated NSCLC. New targeted agents are now recommended for the treatment of ALK rearrangements, RET alterations, MET exon 14 skipping mutations in patients with advanced NSCLC; and new immunotherapy agents are recommended for advanced NSCLC without a driver oncogene.