Biomarker Testing, Perioperative Treatment in NSCLC: Frank Weinberg, MD, PhD

Frank Weinberg, MD, PhD, assistant professor and head of the thoracic oncology program at the University of Illinois Cancer Center, spoke with The American Journal of Managed Care® about his participation in the “Driving the Future of Cancer Care” Institute for Value-Based Medicine® (IVBM) event held in Chicago on August 14, 2025. The event encompassed multiple panels focused on non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with one panel in particular focusing on equitable access to care, which Weinberg participated in.

Weinberg spoke about the topics of discussion during the panel and his personal highlights from attending the meeting.

Transcript

What were some highlights for you from the “Driving the Future of Cancer Care” IVBM held in Chicago?

I think one of the highlights was definitely speaking with clinicians from across the different health systems, and hearing how they are practicing, how they are treating [NSCLC], especially hearing patients’ stories really helps ground the conversations that we were having. And it also reminded us that, while the science and everything is advancing quickly, access isn't necessarily keeping pace. We had talked about biomarker testing, and we talked about perioperative immunotherapy, which is kind of the new player in the field. It was just very useful to kind of hear how different clinicians are practicing.

What other topics were covered during the panel?

I thought, our panel in general, we touched on biomarker testing and perioperative treatment and how we're practicing. I think it's helpful, since this is a new approach; perioperative treatment and biomarker testing is changing every day with more and more targets. I think it was helpful to kind of hear how actual physicians are practicing and incorporating and integrating these things, and also understanding the challenges around biomarker testing, even perioperative treatment. What are the sort of barriers there, and understanding how to get around those barriers and actually provide evidence from our institutions where we've been successful in getting patients the care that they need.