The multidisciplinary care team collaborates closely with pathologists to discuss individual treatment plans and ensure that optimal biomarker-based treatment decisions are consistently reached. 

The Lung Cancer Team is committed to leveraging technology to enhance patient care, with most surgical patients undergoing targeted, minimally invasive lung-sparing thoracoscopic or robotic surgery. Novel approaches are considered for each patient, including targeted/immunotherapy approaches, innovative perioperative or radiation-based therapies, and clinical trial options from Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center’s extensive portfolio of 25 – 30 lung cancer-focused studies. 

The latest lung cancer screening initiatives include $1.2 million to establish an infrastructure for identifying individuals in the Bronx eligible for screening and tracking of adherence to annual testing and follow-up. As the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the American Thoracic Surgery Foundation AstraZeneca Care Equity Surgical Investigator Award, the team will also be conducting a clinical trial focused on understanding and reducing no-shows to screening appointments. 

Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Lung Cancer Team recently performed its 100th robotic anatomic lung cancer resection, a reflection of its commitment to minimally invasive surgical solutions. Working in their state-of-the-art bronchoscopy suite, interventional pulmonologists also passed the milestone of completing 100 navigational bronchoscopy biopsy and staging cases using a GPS-like roadmap that small lung nodule and lymph node biopsies with comprehensive biomarker testing. 

The team continues to show leadership at national and international conferences. Notable among recent presentations was Dr. J. Humberto Rodriguez-Quintero presenting on "Is Underutilization of Adjuvant Therapy in Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Associated with Socioeconomic Disparities?" at the European Association of Thoracic Surgery (ESTS) Meeting 2023 in Milan. 

Among the approximately 50 manuscripts published annually by the team’s clinicians and researchers,“Selective Personalized Radioimmunotherapy for Locally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Trial” published in the esteemed Journal of Clinical Oncology rejects the team’s major contributions to changing standards of cancer patient care. The study showed that carefully selected patients with stage IV NSCLC could benet potentially from surgery; three-year overall survival was 49.4% for patients who had surgery, and 37.7% for patients who had medical treatment without surgery. They also found that surgery was underutilized in certain settings related to socioeconomic factors and was not uniformly offered across the country. 

In 2024, the team looks forward to launching a remote monitoring platform for lung cancer patients on immunotherapy using wearable devices, an enhancement of the patient experience. These achievements, coupled with the team's commitment to advancing lung cancer care through translational research, positions Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center as a leader in innovative approaches to lung cancer treatment.