More than half of newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer have advanced or metastatic disease, 10–26% present with brain metastases at the time of diagnosis, and another 30% will develop brain metastases over the course of their disease.

Current treatment options, particularly in later lines of therapy, are limited in their ability to pass through the blood–brain barrier, leaving a continuing treatment need in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have or develop brain metastases.

This study reviewed the current global landscape of clinical management used for patients with NSCLC, brain metastases, and actionable genomic alterations to gain a better understanding of treatment needs and how emerging therapies can fill those gaps.

For patients with NSCLC, brain metastases, and actionable genomic alterations, the current standard of care is suboptimal, and even with targeted therapies and local therapies (e.g., radiotherapies), prognosis is generally poor, regardless of the therapeutic regimen.

These findings emphasize the need for new therapies and therapeutic approaches that can improve clinical outcomes for this patient population.