Chemotherapy-free drug combination shows promise for patients with KRAS-positive lung cancer | ASCO 2026

Clinical trial data continues to evolve for KRAS G12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer treatment, with a new combination emerging from the Krascendo 170 study, according to first author Ferdinandos Skoulidis, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Thoracic-Head & Neck Med Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, UT MD Anderson.

“Divarasib is what I would consider a next generation in active-state-selective KRAS G12C inhibitor,” Skoulidis said in an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive. “The combination [of divarasib and pembrolizumab] yielded an unconfirmed objective response rate of 69.6%, which is again numerically higher than the expected efficacy of either divarasib alone or pembrolizumab alone in this patient population.”

Skoulidis presented the findings today during the session titled ‘Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze: Challenges in Combination Therapy for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer.’