In November 2018, Peter Stoddard came down with what he assumed was a respiratory infection he caught over the Thanksgiving holiday. 

“I felt just awful,” said the 70-year-old Wauwatosa resident, a retired computer programming technician. “It felt like pneumonia, which I had about 15 years earlier — lots of gurgling sounds in my chest.” 

But an X-ray taken at an urgent care clinic prompted his primary care physician, Karen Fickel, MD, a Medical College of Wisconsin faculty member, to order a CT scan. It revealed something far more serious: stage IV non-small cell lung cancer in both lungs. Further tests showed the cancer had spread to Peter’s brain. 

“At first, I thought she could be wrong,” Peter said, noting he has never smoked. “I was kind of stunned and probably in denial.” 

“It is common for lung cancer to go undetected for a long time because symptoms typically don’t develop until the late stages,” said lung cancer specialist Jonathan Thompson, MD, MS, medical oncologist and MCW faculty member. “At stage IV, the cancer has already spread elsewhere. Ultimately, it is life threatening.” 

Yet, Peter’s cancer responded to treatment and his long-term prognosis is good. His success story testifies to the expertise of his multidisciplinary lung cancer team, which evaluates patients for genetic mutations and offers advanced treatments, many of which stem from clinical trials.

Advantageous Mutation - EGFR

A biopsy of one of Peter’s lung tumors revealed a genetic mutation known as EGFR, which presents in 15% to 20% of people who have non-small cell lung cancer. EGFR, or epidermal growth factor receptor, is a protein on cells that helps them grow. A mutation can cause cells to grow out of control and become cancerous. 

Having this particular mutation was in Peter’s favor because EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer can be treated with osimertinib, a medication that usually stops tumors from growing and allows patients to avoid chemotherapy. 

“Osimertinib shrinks tumors better than chemotherapy and has fewer side effects; plus, it prevents the lung cancer from invading other organs,” Dr. Thompson said. “We saw good shrinkage in numerous tumors in Peter’s lungs and in his brain. Radiation therapy and surgery aren’t options for advanced lung cancer because they are not able to treat cancer that has invaded the bloodstream.” 

After taking osimertinib for four months, a scan showed that one of Peter’s tumors was growing, an unusual development that typically calls for chemotherapy. Instead, Dr. Thompson recommended that Peter enroll in a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of a new medication — a move that tipped the scales in Peter’s favor. 

Shrinking Cancer Tumors with Osimertinib

While still taking osimertinib, Peter started a trial medication called TP-0903, which effectively turns off cancer cells’ growth switch. 

“The medication produced some shrinkage in the tumors that allowed Peter to avoid chemotherapy,” Dr. Thompson said. Enrolling in the clinical trial was an easy decision for Peter. “I know people who have gone through chemotherapy,” he said. “If I can take another pill and it works, it’s a whole lot better than going through chemotherapy. Plus, if my participation helps someone else, that’s a great benefit, too.” 

People who take TP-0903 typically benefit for months or even up to a year. But Peter, who stopped taking the drug in May 2023, got four years of benefit, which Dr. Thompson called outstanding. Peter still takes osimertinib. In fact, Peter had the best outcome out of 177 trial participants in the country. “He was unlucky in the sense that he developed lung cancer,” Dr. Thompson said. “But he is also lucky because we were able to treat it so effectively.” 

Advanced Medicine Leads to Positive Outcomes

Going forward, Peter’s outlook is positive because his cancer has been well controlled for several years. That outlook partially results from the Froedtert & MCW Cancer Network’s focus on research, which helped lead to the development of targeted cancer therapies. 

“Through clinical trials during the last five years, we’ve developed new treatments for each stage of lung cancer,” Dr. Thompson said. “Because cancer treatment is becoming increasingly complex and changes so rapidly, it is important for people to be treated by experts for their specific type of cancer. 

“We treat lung cancer every day — cancers that affect the chest are our sole focus. Our dedicated thoracic tumor board plans treatment for these patients. It includes medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, thoracic surgeons and pulmonologists who work together to give patients the best treatments as promptly as possible.” 

As for Peter, he can’t say enough about the care he received. And he’s looking forward to continuing volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity, playing golf and traveling with his wife. 

“When I first got this diagnosis, I figured we’d never get to Europe again,” he said. “But we went to France last year and plan on going to Spain this year. It’s like I have a new lease on life.”

This article appeared in the July 2024 issue of Froedtert Today. 

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