Dr Lisa Lancaster on Evolving Treatments in Pulmonology

New trials are looking at what could be the next therapy or one that layers on top of present therapies to treat lung diseases, said Lisa Lancaster, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Health.

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Are there any particular trials within the pulmonary or allergy space that you are interested in?

There are multiple different compounds that are being studied in clinical trials that with hope could be the next best therapy that is given independently or perhaps even layered on the therapies that we have presently. We’re very optimistic about what we’ve learned in the past but realize that we have a lot more to learn about the disease. In other words, how do we get to this end pattern of fibrosis, this usual interstitial pneumonitis injury pattern. And there are likely multiple different roads and pathways to get there.

We’re building on our knowledge of genetics in this area, and that’s truly going to be foundational and may end up guiding our therapeutic choices down the road. Perhaps patients with a certain genetic mutation may do better with one therapy than another.

Do you think wearable technology offers any value in detection or observation for sleep apnea and other respiratory conditions?

Studies have been completed and are still ongoing looking at home spirometry for patients with interstitial lung disease. So, that may be something we utilize in the future to monitor patients in the home setting, between their clinic visits.