LCRF hosted its 5th annual Together Chicago dinner and discussion on April 14 in Evanston, IL. The event for patients, caregivers, and others who care about lung cancer drew a record-breaking number of registrants, with about 60 people in attendance.
Dr. Christine Bestvina, UChicago Medicine, and Dr. Frank Weinberg, University of Illinois Cancer Center, offered their insights on the state of lung cancer research and treatment. Jill Feldman, co-founder of EGFR Resisters, rounded out the panel. Stacey Bowers, LCRF Vice President, Mission, was the moderator for the discussion.
From left: Stacey Bowers, Jill Feldman, Dr. Bestvina, and Dr. Weinberg
The group agreed there is much to be excited about in lung cancer treatment.
Dr. Bestvina spoke about developments in KRAS treatment. While first-generation KRAS G12C inhibitors are a good option, next-generation theoretical inhibitors are showing much better efficacy. “And very importantly, we can combine them with immunotherapy safely to try to move these drugs up into the front line. So I do think there’s going to be a huge revolution for KRAS in the next five years.”
Dr Weinberg noted it’s not just G12C, but other mutations. “We’re going to have to start understanding exactly what kind of mutation you have, because there are all these agents coming out. And that is exciting for these folks that traditionally haven’t had a lot of options.”
Small cell lung cancer
The panel also acknowledged the changing field of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment. New medications are changing outcomes for patients with SCLC, earlier in treatment. Antibody drug conjugates are showing efficacy in studies.
“I think what we’re learning in small cell is that the immune system really is important for outcomes. And that’s exciting.”
Dr. Bestvina added that the way brain metastasis is treated is also changing. “I still occasionally see patients as second opinions who have been recommended for whole brain therapy for a single brain met, or even total brain radiation. We’re really moved away from that as the standard. If anybody has been recommended whole brain for their small cell, I absolutely would recommend a second opinion to make sure that’s appropriate for that clinical scenario.”
Recognizing caregivers
Dr. Weinberg mentioned that a former patient’s caregiver and friends were in attendance, and spoke about how much they had taught him.
“The caregiver is central to the entire treatment process for a patient. Because the caregiver is a person who is listening when the patient can’t listen…the caregiver is the person that’s there 24/7 when the physician, nurse, and medical team isn’t there.”
“That relationship is so important – we learn a lot, not only during the treatment but after. We learn how to be a better physician going forward. It’s so important to have those sort of relationships and really support the caregiver.”
Jill Feldman agreed. “I was a caregiver-slash-loved-one before I was a patient. And in many ways, it’s harder being that caregiver, because you are still paying bills, taking care of kids or elderly family, and you’re taking off work, and you’re worried about that patient, and you don’t really know how they’re feeling. It’s a lot. I do think it is important for the clinician to be involved.”
What research means
Each panelist spoke about the importance of research.
As a patient, Jill says, “my goal is to bring the lived experience into research and to make sure that it’s both meaningful and scientifically rigorous. Ultimately, I look at it as our most powerful tool. It’s our lifeline, our future, the future of our children and the next generation. And the true value of research for patients and families is hope – hope to live longer, and hope to live better.”
Dr. Bestvina pointed out that research is allowing patients access to drugs earlier on in their treatment. “Allowing improved efficacy of drugs as well as decreased toxicity for patients through clinical trials is the most important part of my research.”
Dr. Weinberg added, “Everything that we use is because of previous research. Look where we’ve come. The science embodies survivorship. It’s exciting.”
“What it means to me is hope. There’s hope. There’s hope for living longer. There’s hope for a cure.”
Team led by John Heymach, MD, PhD receives $1.5 million grant
NEW YORK, NY (May 12, 2026) – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) announces the first recipients of its LCRF | Boehringer Ingelheim Team Science Award on Innovative Therapeutic Strategies to Understand and Treat Lung Cancers Harboring HER2 Mutations. The project, “Integrated molecular, structural and clinical studies to characterize and develop therapeutic approaches for tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and drug tolerant persister cells (DTPCs) in HER2 mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)” was made possible by a research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim.
John Heymach, MD, PhD, will be the lead investigator on this project. Dr. Heymach is Professor, Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and Chief, Section of Thoracic Medical Oncology at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Joining him on the team is his colleague, Samir M. Hanash, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention- Research and Department of Molecular Pathology at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michael Eck, MD, PhD, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, John W. Lawson, PhD, Computational Materials Group Leader at NASA Ames Research Center, and Heidi Greulich, PhD, Senior Group Leader, Institute Scientist at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. A subset of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have tumors driven by mutations in a gene called HER2. While recent approvals of HER2-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have represented major progress, most patients eventually relapse because their tumors develop resistance to their current treatment. The team’s project seeks to understand why resistance occurs and to develop new strategies to overcome it, with the goal of delivering more lasting and effective treatments for patients with HER2-mutant lung cancer.
Lung cancers harboring HER2 mutations represent one of the most challenging subsets of oncogene-driven non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) to treat. Despite recent approvals of HER2-directed tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), therapeutic benefit is often transient. Patients with HER2 mutated lung cancer often stop responding to treatment for two related reasons: the cancer’s HER2 protein changes shape so the drug can no longer attach to it, and the cancer finds entirely new ways to survive that don’t involve HER2 at all. Tackling both problems at once requires scientists from multiple fields, including drug design, cell biology, computer modeling, and immunology, to work together.
The research team brings together investigators with complementary expertise to systematically address these challenges in two distinct projects, utilizing the latest technological advances, including AI, in an innovative approach. The first project will apply deep mutational scanning, structural biology, and computational modeling to comprehensively define resistance mutations within HER2 and develop a predictive structure of TKI response to HER2 primary and resistance mutations. The second project will comprehensively characterize the landscape of HER2-independent resistance to HER2 TKIs and develop novel cellular therapies and T-cell engagers against drug-tolerant persister cells (DTPCs) and drug resistance cells (DRCs). This will identify candidate therapeutic targets and test efficacy of therapies which, if promising, could move into a phase 1 clinical trial.
“By analyzing tumor models and patient samples from before treatment, during minimal residual disease and at the point of resistance, we will be able to identify changes in gene expression, cell identity, and cell surface proteins,” says Dr. Heymach. “The resulting data will then be tested, and if the approaches work well in the lab and animal studies, the results will directly support a doctor-led clinical study, which will get us that much closer to additional options for patients whose tumors harbor HER2 mutations.”
“These projects represent the best kind of collaboration between laboratory and computational science,” remarked Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FASCO, Chief Scientific Officer for LCRF. “The hope is to arrive at viable answers more quickly, and these investigators are among the best in their fields.”
“We’re proud to support research through collaborations that help advance new approaches for some of the hardest-to-treat cancers and address areas of significant unmet need,” said Emmanuelle Clerisme-Beaty, Medical Director US, SVP Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim. “By working together, we can help accelerate progress in cancer research, and we congratulate the Team Science grant recipients for the important work they are leading to improve patient outcomes now and in the future.”
About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 450 research grants, totaling nearly $53 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information about the LCRF grant program and funding opportunities, visit LCRF.org/research.
Contact: LUNG CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION (LCRF) Sheila Sullivan Sr. Director, Marketing & Communications marketing@LCRF.org
By Dhru Deb, PhD Senior Director, Research and Administration, LCRF
I wrote this article in response to a request from EnricoPerettiof Milan, Italy, who recently reached out to us with a deeply personal question about research progress in KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
“Good evening, thanks for your page, which is really informative. Can you kindly post more often about research advancement or news in NSCLC KRAS mutation, and especially pG12C? My mom passed away last October due to this specific cancer, so I am particularly eager to research advances in this context. Also, as far as I know—please correct me if I am wrong—this is one of the most diffuse lung cancers; however, the conversation is usually polarized towards EGFR and ALK.”
Enrico’s words reflect a reality faced by many families: the search for answers often comes too late for someone they love. His question—what progress is being made, and why does it matter—goes to the heart of why research exists in the first place.
KRAS mutations are among the most common drivers of lung adenocarcinoma. Yet for decades, they were also among the most frustrating. Scientists were aware of and they understood its role in fueling cancer growth, but they could not effectively target it. For patients, that gap between knowledge and treatment meant limited options—and limited hope.
Today, that reality is changing.
Building the scientific foundation
The progress now reaching patients did not begin with a breakthrough drug. It began years earlier, with fundamental questions about KRAS biology and the willingness to pursue the research to answer them.
In the mid-2000s, Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) mediated visionary donors’ intentions of supporting research to understand how KRAS mutations drive lung cancer and how these tumors might be detected and treated more precisely. At the time, this work was exploratory—far from guaranteed to succeed and not yet tied to a clear therapeutic path.
At Stanford University, Dr. Alejandro Sweet-Cordero mapped KRAS signaling pathways, helping to reveal how these tumors survive and grow. At UC Davis, Dr. Philip Mack explored detecting mutations in circulating tumor DNA—early steps toward what we now know as liquid biopsy, a tool that allows clinicians to identify actionable mutations through a simple blood test.
At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Drs. Yixuan Gong and Marc Ladanyi advanced genomic profiling, helping to establish comprehensive molecular testing as a standard of care. This ensured that patients could be matched with the most appropriate therapies based on the biology of their disease.
Other investigators tackled equally critical questions: how KRAS-driven tumors interact with the immune system, how they resist treatment, and how they respond to radiation. Together, these efforts formed a foundation—one that, at the time, may have seemed incremental, but ultimately proved transformative.
From discovery to direct treatment
For decades, KRAS was often described as “undruggable.” That perception shaped expectations for patients and clinicians alike.
After years of persistence across the scientific community, drugs were finally developed to target a specific version of KRAS mutations called G12C, and these treatments made it into the clinic.
The CodeBreaK100 trial evaluating sotorasib and the KRYSTAL-1 trial evaluating adagrasib demonstrated meaningful clinical activity in patients with previously treated KRAS G12C–mutant cancers. The results of both trials were published in the New England Journal of Medicine leading to FDA approvals of sotorasib and adagrasib as second line therapies. For the first time, patients had therapies designed to directly target the molecular driver of their disease.
The arc of progress also reflects the growth and continued leadership of investigators supported earlier in their careers. In 2007, Dr. Pasi Jänne received LCRF’s Hope Now Award for research that contributed to the broader understanding of oncogene-driven lung cancer. Years later, he would serve as one of the investigators on the KRYSTAL-1 trial, helping to bring adagrasib to patients with KRAS G12C–mutant disease.
Similarly, Dr. Timothy Burns, previously funded by LCRF for a different project, served as an investigator in the CodeBreaK100 trial. His role in evaluating sotorasib reflects how investment in talented investigators strengthens the clinical research enterprise as a whole.
When I reached out to congratulate Tim, he replied –
“It was truly gratifying to be involved with the early phase clinical trial that led to the approval of the first targeted therapy for KRAS-mutant lung cancer after many years of investigators including myself working on trials for these patients that were unsuccessful. It has been truly rewarding to be able to treat my patients with a KRAS-mutant NSCLC with these agents.”
For families like Enrico’s, these advances can feel bittersweet—arriving after loss, yet offering hope that others may face a different outcome.
These therapies did not emerge in isolation. They were built on decades of biological insight—insight made possible, in part, by early-stage research funding. Investigators supported early in their careers have gone on to lead pivotal clinical trials, translating discovery into treatment. What begins as a high-risk research question can, over time, become a therapy that changes lives.
Facing the next challenge: resistance
Progress in cancer research is rarely linear. Each breakthrough reveals new challenges.
While KRAS G12C inhibitors have changed the treatment landscape, many tumors do not respond to treatment or eventually develop resistance resulting in disease progression.
Addressing this problem has become one of the field’s most urgent priorities.
Through the IASLC-LCRF Team Science Award, researchers including Drs. David Barbie, Aaron Hata, Eric Smith, Shunsuke Kitajima, and Pasi Jänne are working to understand and eliminate these drug-tolerant persister cells. Their approach reflects a shift in strategy: not only targeting KRAS directly, but also engaging the immune system to eradicate residual disease.
This convergence—targeted therapy combined with immunotherapy—represents a critical step toward more durable responses, and potentially, long-term remission.
In fact, olomorasib, a newer KRAS G12C drug, has shown promise in combination with immunotherapy, pembrolizumab, as a potential first-line treatment—an important step toward moving targeted therapies earlier in the course of disease, when they may have the greatest impact.
After reading the promising results published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, I reached out to the lead author, Dr. Timothy Burns. He said-
“The study demonstrated we could safely and efficaciously combine newer KRAS G12C inhibitors (olomorasib) with immunotherapy. The future for patients diagnosed with KRAS-mutant NSCLC is bright.”
This is a reminder of the unique role of research investment: to act as a bridge between what is known and what is possible. For patients and families, that bridge can mean the difference between having options—or not.
Expanding the frontier: new KRAS targets and new possibilities
The first KRAS G12C inhibitors were a historic breakthrough.
A new wave of therapies is now building on that progress, recognizing that KRAS-driven cancers are diverse and require tailored approaches.
In early 2026, zoldonrasib received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for advanced non–small cell lung cancer driven by a specific KRAS mutation called G12D—one of the most common and hardest-to-treat forms of this gene. G12D refers to a small change in the KRAS protein that keeps it stuck in an “on” position, helping cancer grow. This drug was designed as a potential first-of-its-kind treatment that targets KRAS while it’s active. Other experimental drugs, including D3S-001 and elironrasib, are being studied to help overcome resistance and keep working even after earlier treatments stop being effective.
Together, these advances mark a shift from proving KRAS can be targeted to refining how, when, and for whom these therapies work—offering patients and families a rapidly expanding set of possibilities.
For families still waiting
Enrico’s question—why more attention isn’t always given to KRAS, despite its prevalence—is an important one. Historically, the lack of effective targeted therapies meant less progress. Today, that is changing, as scientific research results in the advancement of cancer treatment.
But the deeper truth behind his message is this: progress matters most when it reaches patients in time.
This is one of the motivations of Dr. Lyudmila Bazhenova, an investigator in the KRYSTAL-1 trial, and a member of LCRF’s Education & Engagement Committee. This committee ensures LCRF delivers relevant, helpful educational content that meets the needs of the lung cancer community and is readily accessible to inform and empower individuals throughout their journey.
The advances in KRAS-mutant lung cancer are real and meaningful. They are already improving outcomes for many patients. And yet, there is more to do—to overcome resistance, to expand treatment options, and ultimately, to move closer to cures.
For every family searching for answers today, the work continues with urgency and purpose.
Because behind every scientific question is a human one.
And behind every investment in research is the possibility of changing what families like Enrico’s experience in the future.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval to zongertinib for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have HER2 (ERBB2) mutations. This is the first oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that has been approved for the initial treatment of HER2 mutated NSCLC.
Why it’s important
Alterations in the HER2 gene have been associated with the development and spread of cancer. HER2 mutations occur in about 2-4% of patients with NSCLC. Zongertinib is an oral TKI that specifically targets HER2. We highlighted this drug in a Science Made Simple less than a year ago. It was previously approved to treat HER2 mutated NSCLC after previous treatment with chemotherapy and is now approved for the first-line treatment of this disease. Zongertinib was evaluated in the Beamion LUNG-1 (NCT04886804) trial which included 72 untreated patients with advanced NSCLC with HER2 mutations. The response rate was 76% and nearly 50% of patients had control of their disease for 12 months or longer.
What it means for patients
Zongertinib represents a large step forward in the treatment of NSCLC patients with HER2 mutations with its approval as initial treatment. As with most TKI treatment options, there are potential side effects and precautions. The prescribing information includes warnings and precautions for liver and cardiac toxicity as well as interstitial lung disease/pneumonitis, and embryo-fetal toxicity. Since this is an accelerated FDA approval there will be more trials that will be performed to confirm the effectiveness of the drug.
What to look for
In the future, we could see the evaluation of zongertinib in combination with other agents such as chemotherapy. It is also important to remember that the drug is unlikely to be a cure for these patients and that there is still an urgent need to continue research efforts to determine why cancer cells are or become resistant to treatment. Expect that the development of novel drugs for this type of lung cancer will continue in the future.
Our experts for LCRF’s April livestream joined moderator Isabel Preeshagul, DO, MBS, to discuss the nuances and complexities of younger people receiving and navigating a lung cancer diagnosis.
Eric Singhi, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Laura Petrillo, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Leah Phillips, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Young Lung Cancer Initiative
Shira Boehler, lung cancer survivor, author, and advocate
Michael Blackstone, patient with EGFR+ lung cancer
Teams led by Kwok-Kin Wong, MD, PhD and Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD receive $1.5 million grant
NEW YORK, NY (April 14, 2026) – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) announces the first recipients of its LCRF Team Science Award on Advancing Therapies Toward Curing EGFR Mutated Lung Cancers. The project, “A novel therapeutic combination strategy to eradicate EGFR-mutant cancer persisters” was selected for this award, made possible by a generous private donation from Benay and Steven Taub.
Kwok-Kin Wong, MD, PhD, will be the Principal Investigator (PI) overseeing both of the teams’ projects and act as lead on Project 1. Dr. Wong is Anne Murnick Cogan and David H. Cogan Professor of Oncology at the Perlmutter Cancer Center and New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Leading Project 2 is Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD, Professor of Genetics and Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Charles A. Dana Chair in Human Genetics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Both Dr. Wong and Dr. Meyerson are renowned figures in EGFR-mutant lung cancer research. Joining the effort are Lior Golomb, PhD in the Meyerson Lab on Project 1; with Elaine Shum, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and Director of Cancer Screening Programs and Jiehui Deng, PhD, Research Assistant Professor in the New York University Langone Health Department of Medicine as co-investigators on Project 2. Rounding out the investigative team are Deborah Markow, lung cancer patient advocate, and Kristen Labbe, MPH, as project coordinator.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. A common subtype, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), frequently carries mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene occurring in about 10% of lung cancers in people of European or African ancestry and up to 45% in those of East Asian ancestry. Oral drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as osimertinib, target these mutations and have significantly improved patient outcomes, yet median survival remains only around 39 months as nearly all advanced-stage patients relapse due to drug resistance.
Resistance can arise through several mechanisms: additional EGFR mutations that block drug binding, activation of bypass signaling pathways, or cellular transformation into small-cell or squamous-cell lung cancer. However, in nearly half of relapsed patients, the cause remains unidentified, making these “hidden” resistance mechanisms one of the greatest ongoing challenges in treating EGFR-mutant lung cancer.
Dr. Wong and Dr. Meyerson’s research teams have identified a gene, which when deactivated, made cancer cells more sensitive to osimertinib and prevented them from entering a state of drug resistance. Their work will be divided into two projects: Project 1 will test drug combinations in mouse models that closely replicate human lung cancer to learn about the biological and disease impacts of these combinations and how they function in the cancer cells. Project 2 will assess the tested drug combinations in the clinic and its impact on human lung cancer, with a plan to launch a phase II clinical trial in patients with high-risk EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
“We aim to prevent resistance before it begins,” says Dr. Wong. “Rather than allowing the cancer to form new escape routes and then trying to block them one by one, our strategy is to begin treatment with a combination therapy that can kill more cancer cells from the start, reducing the chance that any resistant cells can develop. We believe this approach can lead to deeper, more durable responses and ultimately help patients live longer.”
Dr. Meyerson adds, “If we can identify a combination therapy that heads off resistance and allows better quality of life for people whose tumors harbor EGFR mutations, then we are one step closer to curing this type of lung cancer. That’s incredibly exciting.”
“This research project has several promising aims that could change how EGFR-mutant lung cancer is treated,” remarked Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FASCO, Chief Scientific Officer for LCRF. “That the work will result in a phase II clinical trial speaks to the novel and accelerated approach the investigators are taking. Being able to deliver additional options to people before they experience treatment resistance is an important step in increasing survival.”
LCRF funded early-career work by Drs. Wong and Meyerson that helped launch the field of targeted therapy in lung cancer. In the early 2000s, Dr. Meyerson’s team discovered EGFR mutations in lung cancer: foundational work that shaped genome analysis, clinical trials, and today’s treatments for oncogenic-driven cancers. He also received two legacy organization awards from LCRF: the 2011 Caine Halter Hope Now Award, and a 2004 award for his project titled “Novel Human Lung Cancer Gene Discovery,” ultimately identifying 93 alterations and advancing multiple clinical trials. This Team Science Award unites these two renowned researchers in continued pursuit of a cure for EGFR-mutant lung cancer.
About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 450 research grants, totaling nearly $53 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information about the LCRF grant program and funding opportunities, visit LCRF.org/research.
Contact: LUNG CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION (LCRF) Sheila Sullivan Sr. Director, Marketing & Communications ssullivan@lcrf.org
Foundation honors Rose Ann Weinstein and Narjust Florez, MD, FASCO
NEW YORK, NY (April 7, 2026) – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation’s 2026 Gala will spotlight women facing lung cancer with courage and resolve, women we have lost to the disease, and physicians and scientists whose leadership is reshaping outcomes for women everywhere. The gala will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at Cipriani 25 Broadway in Manhattan.
This year, the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) will honor long-time board member, Rose Ann Weinstein, and renowned thoracic oncologist and researcher, Narjust Florez, MD, FASCO. LCRF’s Board of Directors and Gala Committee have chosen to celebrate two remarkable honorees: one whose unmatched commitment to LCRF and lung cancer research has left an indelible mark on the field, and another whose tireless efforts to improve patient outcomes through research capture the very heart of LCRF’s mission. These honorees, through their leadership, represent the strength, resilience and vision of women making a difference in the lung cancer community. Jill Frizzley will be the event’s patient advocate speaker, whose personal lung cancer journey underscores the urgent need for more lung cancer research.
Rose Ann Weinstein (left) and Dr. Narjust Florez
Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of women in the United States, taking as many lives as breast, ovarian, and cervical cancers combined. Worldwide, more than 600,000 women die of lung cancer annually. Although lung cancer diagnoses have been declining, women with no known risk factors are twice as likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than men. Lung cancer, once thought to be a disease of older men, is now affecting younger people in general, and young women in particular. At this year’s LCRF gala, the stories of women will be at the center of lung cancer experience, care, advocacy, leadership, and research breakthroughs.
Rose Ann Weinstein has been supporting lung cancer research with LCRF since 2006, following her mother’s battle with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer. In her two decades as a lung cancer research champion, she has co-chaired the Strides for Life event and served as chair of the New York-based gala event committee, instrumental in creating one of the most impactful and anticipated events in the lung cancer community, all while serving as a member of LCRF’s board of directors. Ms. Weinstein’s generosity, commitment, fundraising prowess and influence has been instrumental in transforming LCRF from a community-focused foundation to a national leader in lung cancer research.
“LCRF is indebted to Rose Ann for her decades of service to LCRF,” says Aubrey Rhodes, Executive Director, LCRF. “A tireless champion of lung cancer research, Rose Ann has dedicated the last twenty years to raising funds for breakthrough science that has led to more and better treatment options and increased survival for people with lung cancer. She has turned her personal loss into driving the mission of LCRF forward – changing what it means to receive a lung cancer diagnosis.”
“Twenty years ago, spurred on by the loss of my mother, I showed up because I believed that by helping to remove the stigma surrounding lung cancer, raising awareness, and raising money for lung cancer research, I could have a small part in finding answers that could spare others from the same loss,” remarks Rose Ann Weinstein. “My involvement with LCRF is my way of honoring my mother’s memory and hopefully giving others more time with the people they love. While I am proud of how far we have come, there is still so much more we need to do.”
The foundation will also honor Narjust Florez, MD, FASCO, Co-Director of the Young Lung Cancer Program, Associate Medical Director of the Cancer Care Access Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Florez is a thoracic oncologist, lung cancer researcher, and advocate whose life’s work is built on a radical premise: that women deserve to be believed. As founder of the Florez Lab, she leads bold, equity-driven research at the intersection of translational science, patient care and community outreach with a fierce focus on the women historically left out of both clinical trials and the clinical conversation. For too long, women with lung cancer have faced symptom dismissal, delayed diagnoses, and a research landscape that simply wasn’t built with them in mind. Dr. Florez is changing that. She has pioneered women-centered clinical care and spearheads groundbreaking studies on how lung cancer and its treatments uniquely affect people under 50 — from fertility and sexual health to barriers in access and diagnosis. Her international campaign, #HearHer co-created with her mentee Student Doctor Angela Morabito, is a direct call to clinicians: listen to women. Not as a courtesy — as a clinical imperative. Because earlier detection starts with being heard.
“Receiving this honor means so much to me,” says Dr. Florez. “I am so proud to be part of this wonderful community. Making sure that underserved and understudied individuals, especially women, receive the information, care and respect they need and deserve while navigating a lung cancer diagnosis is something I am passionate about. The studies that we lead in my lab are specifically to understand the increasing rates of lung cancer in young women, develop screening tools for never tobacco users at risk for lung cancer and improve access for ALL – whether it is delays in receiving diagnoses or lack of understanding how cancer and cancer treatment affect young people’s lives – and we are showing how to overcome these inequities with data and realistic and long-lasting interventions. I’m grateful to LCRF to be part of their mission, too.”
The LCRF New York gala is scheduled to take place at 6 pm on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at Cipriani 25 Broadway in New York City. Attendees will hear from the many people whose lives were influenced by Ms. Weinstein and Dr. Florez and will have opportunities to make their own impact on lung cancer research. More details can be found at LCRF.org/gala.
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About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 450 research grants, totaling nearly $53 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information, visit C.org.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Median Technologies’ eyonisTM Lung Cancer Screening (LCS), a medical device used for the combined detection and diagnosis of lung cancer.
Why it’s important
EyonisTM LCS is an AI-based technology designed to support the earlier detection of lung cancer by helping clinicians identify and characterize pulmonary (lung) nodules on low-dose CT scans. The RELIVE study involved 480 high-risk patients and showed that this technology improved radiologists’ ability to detect and evaluate lung nodules. A previous trial, the REALITY study, demonstrated eyonisTM LCS’s ability to accurately tell the difference between cancerous and non-cancerous lung nodules. These studies were conducted using existing patient information from major cancer centers in the US and Europe. This is important because applying this technology to low-dose CT screening has the potential to improve the early detection of lung cancer.
What it means for patients
The ability to improve the detection of lung cancer at an earlier stage through LCS can only result in an increase in survival. The ability to accurately determine whether a lung nodule is cancerous can reduce the need for additional testing and other procedures such as biopsies. This technology has the potential to be used worldwide and could result in reduced health care costs. It is important to remember the use of AI in screening does not eliminate the need for the “human” factor but aids radiologists in making earlier and more accurate diagnoses.
What to look for
This development is just the beginning of an AI revolution in healthcare. Expect to see more use of AI in radiology, pathology and other aspects of healthcare management.
From Discovery to Durability: The ALK Lung Cancer Breakthrough—and the Research That Made It Possible
By Dhru Deb, PhD Senior Director, Research and Administration, LCRF
In 2007, researchers identified a new genetic driver in a small but significant subset of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a change in the structure of a chromosome that accidentally joins two genes—EML4 and ALK—together, creating what is known as the EML4-ALK fusion. For patients—often younger, never- or light-smokers—this discovery offered something rare in lung cancer at the time: a clear molecular target.
The first drug to successfully target ALK-rearranged lung cancer was crizotinib. Initially developed for a different target, it produced dramatic tumor shrinkage in patients whose cancers harbored ALK fusions. Clinical trials including PROFILE 1007 and PROFILE 1014 demonstrated superior response rates and longer progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy. In 2011, crizotinib received FDA approval.
For patients, this was transformative. Tumors that had been growing rapidly began shrinking within weeks. Symptoms improved.
But as with nearly all targeted therapies, the benefit did not last forever. Within one to two years for most patients, the cancer returned. Some tumors acquired new mutations in the ALK gene itself. Others activated alternative signaling pathways. Many spread to the brain, where crizotinib had limited penetration.
Understanding why resistance happened—and how to overcome it—became the next urgent frontier. This is where Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) mediated visionary donors’ intentions to support research that made a crucial difference.
In 2009, Dr. Susumu Kobayashi at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center launched LCRF-funded research to identify mechanisms of resistance to ALK inhibitors. His work helped define secondary ALK mutations as actionable drivers of relapse, creating a roadmap for designing next-generation inhibitors that could overcome them.
In 2010, Dr. Christine Lovly at Vanderbilt University Medical Center focused her LCRF-supported research on developing novel therapeutic strategies for ALK-fusion–positive lung cancer. Her work contributed to understanding how resistance pathways emerge and how they might be targeted.
In 2011, Dr. Magda Stumpfova at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute identified CRKL as a new way cancer cells can become resistant to treatment. Her research showed that resistance doesn’t always happen because the original target of the drug changes. Instead, cancer cells can sometimes switch on alternative signaling routes inside the cell—essentially finding a workaround—that allow them to keep growing even when ALK is being blocked.
In 2012, Dr. Adam Crystal at Massachusetts General Hospital tested combination drug approaches in models of crizotinib-resistant disease, helping validate the concept that dual targeting strategies might delay or overcome resistance.
These projects were launched at a time when resistance biology was only beginning to be mapped. Their findings informed both laboratory science and clinical strategy.
Armed with deeper knowledge of resistance mutations and the need for brain-penetrant therapies, drug developers created more potent next-generation ALK inhibitors, including alectinib, brigatinib, and ceritinib.
The ALEX trial demonstrated that alectinib was superior to crizotinib in the first-line setting, significantly extending progression-free survival and dramatically improving control of brain metastases. Similarly, the ALTA-1L trial established brigatinib as another powerful first-line option.
These advances translated into meaningful gains for patients. The risk of cancer spreading to the brain dropped substantially. Remissions lasted longer. Five-year survival rates rose to levels rarely seen in metastatic lung cancer.
As second-generation inhibitors became standard, new resistance patterns emerged, including complex and compound ALK mutations. Researchers needed an even more sophisticated inhibitor.
That drug was lorlatinib, engineered to overcome the most refractory resistance mutations and to penetrate the central nervous system effectively. In the CROWN trial, lorlatinib demonstrated unprecedented efficacy as first-line therapy, with remarkable durability and brain protection. It subsequently received FDA approval.
The ability to design lorlatinib rationally—to anticipate the mutations it needed to overcome—was made possible by years of resistance research, including early LCRF-supported studies.
As multiple ALK inhibitors became available, a new question emerged: which drug should be used first, and how should therapy be sequenced after resistance develops?
In 2018, Dr. Satoshi Yoda at Massachusetts General Hospital received LCRF funding to study how to tailor treatment for ALK-positive lung cancer. His work focused on defining mutation-specific sensitivities, helping clinicians better match particular resistance mutations with the most effective next inhibitor. This research contributed to growing efforts to guide treatment choices based on the specific resistance mutations present in a patient’s tumor.
However, as patients began living longer, new forms of resistance became apparent—some not driven by new genetic mutations. This is when LCRF supported the next phase of research projects.
In 2022, Drs. Álvaro Villalonga and Esther Resano at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center began investigating epigenomic mechanisms of resistance to ALK-targeted therapies. Their research explores how changes in chromatin and gene regulation may allow tumors to adapt to the constant presence of these drugs and continue growing despite treatment.
That same year, Dr. Jaime Schneider at Massachusetts General Hospital launched research into metabolic reprogramming as a driver of resistance in ALK-positive lung cancer, examining how cancer cells alter their energy use to adapt.
These studies aim to understand how tumors can change and adapt over time, and to identify weaknesses in cancer cells beyond the specific part of the ALK protein that current drugs are designed to block.
When ALK rearrangements were first discovered, metastatic lung cancer carried a grim prognosis. Today, many patients with ALK-positive disease live for years—sometimes a decade or more—with sequential targeted therapies controlling their cancer.
This transformation did not occur in a single leap. It unfolded in stages: discovery, clinical validation, FDA approval, resistance, redesign, and renewal. At each stage, investigators supported by LCRF contributed critical insights—often before the field fully understood their importance.
And the work continues—because the arc of discovery, once set in motion, does not stop —and neither do the people whose lives it has changed.
In 2026, LCRF will launch a dedicated ALK+ research funding opportunity. We need your help to make it happen! Find out more at LCRF.org/ALK. Please donate and help us reach our goal of $130,000 by May 1.
Joshua Reuss, MD, and Patrick Forde, MD, PhD, talked with moderator Isabel Preeshagul, DO, MBS, about developments from the 2026 IASLC Targeted Therapies of Lung Cancer meeting.
