🫁 Lung/Head and Neck — 2026-W42

What this page is. Every paper the week's monitor reviewed — including the ones that did not go into the digest. Material marked “Not selected” was reviewed and deliberately left out. It has not been fact-checked to digest standard and is not endorsed. For the curated read, see the digest itself.

Single-arm phase 2 (Simon two-stage) of erdafitinib in FGFR-altered NSCLC, published in Clinical Cancer Research. Suggests preliminary activity in FGFR fusion-positive disease, with further study needed.

Translational study with preclinical mutagenesis screening and a retrospective real-world cohort in RET fusion-positive NSCLC, published in Clinical Cancer Research. Identifies drug-specific resistance mutations that could guide sequencing of selective RET inhibitors and next-generation agents after progression.

Single-arm phase 2 trial of first-line toripalimab plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy in advanced B3 thymoma and thymic carcinoma, published in ESMO Open. Shows encouraging progression-free survival with manageable toxicity and exploratory biomarker associations, supporting this combination as a possible option pending larger confirmation.

Single-arm phase 2 (first stage of Simon design) in ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC pretreated with ROS1 TKIs, published in Clin Cancer Res. Cabozantinib showed responses including in patients with ROS1 resistance mutations, suggesting a possible post-TKI option, but the very small sample limits conclusions.

Randomized placebo-controlled trial of EGCG in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients in remission after radiation-based treatment, published in European Journal of Cancer. EGCG did not reduce EBV reactivation or recurrence, though persistent EBV DNA positivity was prognostic, so it is not a useful intervention.

Systematic review of randomized phase 3 trials of adjuvant PD-1/PD-L1 blockade after NSCLC resection, published in Lung Cancer. Reframes benefit in absolute terms, showing modest and uncertain absolute DFS gains, which can inform counseling on adjuvant immunotherapy.

Real-world clinicogenomic database analysis in adults with advanced solid tumors, published in JCO Precision Oncology. Uses matched emulation to assess whether NTRK fusions affect survival independent of TRK inhibitor therapy, informing prognostic interpretation rather than treatment selection.

Retrospective real-world single-institution analysis of lung cytology specimens in lung cancer, published in Lung Cancer. Suggests cytology often contributes to diagnosis and predictive biomarker testing, supporting its use as a complementary sample source.

Translational biomarker study in stage IV lung adenocarcinoma treated with first-line chemo-immunotherapy, published in Lung Cancer. B-cell aggregation in pretreatment biopsies associated with survival, but it is hypothesis-generating and not yet usable to guide treatment.