Patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continue to see more biomarker-driven treatment options emerge as targeted therapies reshape lung cancer care.
At the ASCO Annual Meeting, David Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, discussed the recently FDA-approved antibody-drug conjugate telisotuzumab vedotin-tllv (Emrelis) and what clinicians should know about identifying eligible patients, managing toxicities, and incorporating the therapy into clinical practice.
The presentation was part of a broader ASCO session highlighting newly approved oncology therapies and the practical challenges that can come with implementing them in real-world care settings.
In May 2025, the FDA granted accelerated approval to telisotuzumab vedotin-tllv for adults with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with high c-MET protein overexpression.
Telisotuzumab vedotin is a c-MET-directed antibody-drug conjugate designed to deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells expressing high levels of c-MET protein.
Dr. Camidge explained that the approval was based on findings from the LUMINOSITY clinical trial, which primarily evaluated patients with nonsquamous EGFR wild-type NSCLC.
Below are the study’s findings:
The researchers identified high c-MET expression by immunohistochemistry, with approximately 14 percent of NSCLC cases meeting the high-expression threshold.
Dr. Camidge also noted that c-MET positivity may increase over time in some patients, suggesting that retesting may be appropriate if earlier testing was negative.
A major focus of the presentation involved helping clinicians recognize and manage the therapy’s unique toxicity profile.
Dr. Camidge summarized the key adverse events as involving “nerves, eyes, lungs, and edema,” reflecting some of the most clinically important side effects associated with the drug.
Potential adverse effects discussed during the session included:
“Peripheral neuropathy is really a surrogate for exposure with this drug,” Dr. Camidge said during his presentation, emphasizing the importance of proactive monitoring and dose adjustments.
He also discussed ocular toxicities such as keratitis and blurred vision, which may be managed with lubricating eye drops, treatment interruption, or dose reduction.
Although telisotuzumab vedotin showed more limited activity as monotherapy in EGFR-mutant NSCLC, Dr. Camidge discussed emerging evidence suggesting outcomes may improve when the therapy is combined with osimertinib, an antineoplastic medication.
According to the presentation, response rates were substantially higher when patients continued osimertinib alongside telisotuzumab vedotin than when they stopped the EGFR-targeted therapy altogether.
“If you stop the osimertinib, you remove the selection pressure and MET-negative cells can expand,” Dr. Camidge said.
Dr. Cambidge’s ASCO presentation highlighted telisotuzumab vedotin-tllv as an important new treatment option for patients with previously treated nonsquamous NSCLC with high c-Met overexpression. The session also underscored a broader theme emerging across oncology: as newly approved targeted therapies enter practice, clinicians must balance efficacy with careful toxicity management, biomarker testing, and individualized patient care.
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