August 2025 brought several significant updates in pulmonology, spanning advances in early detection, disease-modifying therapies, and clinical guidance. For World Lung Cancer Day, experts highlighted progress in lung cancer screening, where low-dose CT, emerging liquid biopsy biomarkers, and evolving treatment options offer new hope for earlier diagnosis and improved outcomes, though access and implementation challenges persist. In bronchiectasis, the FDA approved brensocatib for patients aged 12 and older, marking the first therapy to target neutrophil-driven inflammation and reduce exacerbation rates, while and HCPLive RX Review discussion explored the landscape’s shift toward disease-modifying care.
The FDA approval of zopapogene imadenovec-drba (Papzimeos), the first immunotherapy for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, underscored innovation in another rare and chronic respiratory disease. Updates in sinusitis management reinforced cautious antibiotic use, watchful waiting, and shared decision making, alongside guidance for biologic therapies in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. In pediatric asthma, new predictive models integrating oral microbiome profiles, serum inflammatory mediators, and past attack history achieved superior accuracy for identifying children at risk of future severe attacks, offering clinicians data-driven tools to inform preventive strategies.
Check out this August 2025 pulmonology month in review for a recap of HCPLive’s coverage of the top news and research from the past few weeks:
1. World Lung Cancer Day: Experts Offer New Hope for Screening and Emerging Treatments
Lung cancer outcomes continue to improve through expanded low-dose CT screening, innovative blood-based biomarkers, and evolving therapies, though implementation and access remain major barriers. Albert Rizzo, MD, Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, Lindsey Cotton, DOMed, DHSc, MS, and Jacob Sands, MD, discuss the latest updates in this perspective.
2. FDA Approves First Bronchiectasis Therapy, Brensocatib, for Ages 12 and Up
The FDA approved brensocatib as the first disease-modifying therapy for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in patients aged 12 and older, based on phase 3 ASPEN trial data showing a 21% reduction in annualized pulmonary exacerbation rates versus placebo. Brensocatib, targeting neutrophil-driven inflammation, also demonstrated modest preservation of FEV1 and a manageable safety profile, representing a potential new standard of care.
3. Zopapogene Imadenovec First Immunotherapy Approved for Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis
The FDA approved zopapogene imadenovec-drba (Papzimeos) as the first immunotherapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in adults, offering a non-replicating adenoviral vector–based approach to reduce disease burden. In a pivotal Phase 1/2 trial, 51% of patients achieved complete response and over 85% experienced reduced surgical interventions, with a favorable safety profile dominated by mild-to-moderate injection site reactions and systemic symptoms.
4. Cautious Antibiotic Use and Shared Decision Making Emphasized in 2025 Sinusitis Guidelines
The AAO-HNSF 2025 adult sinusitis guideline update emphasizes cautious antibiotic use and shared decision making, recommending watchful waiting as the preferred initial approach for uncomplicated acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. First-line therapy remains amoxicillin with or without clavulanate, while topical intranasal therapies and patient education are highlighted for symptom relief. The update also provides guidance on biologics for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, discourages routine imaging or empiric antibiotics for CRS, and reinforces evidence-based diagnostic timelines.
5. Oral Microbiome, Serum Markers Improve Childhood Asthma Risk Prediction
New research shows that integrating oral microbiome profiles, serum inflammatory mediators, and past asthma attack history improves prediction of future severe asthma attacks in children. Models combining these biomarkers achieved high predictive accuracy (AUROCC ~0.87 in discovery and 0.84 in replication), outperforming conventional measures like FENO and blood eosinophil counts.
6. Shifting Bronchiectasis Treatment Toward Disease Modification
In an HCPLive RX Review Special Report, pulmonologists Albert Rizzo, MD, and James Chalmers, MBChB, PhD, explore the evolving landscape of bronchiectasis care, emphasizing the disease’s chronic morbidity, delayed diagnosis, and heterogeneity. They discuss the longstanding absence of disease-modifying therapies until the recent United States Food and Dug Administration approval of brensocatib in August 2025 under the name Brinsupri.
7. Breaking the Surgery Cycle in RRP With First Immunotherapy, with Simon Best, MD
HCPLive spoke with Simon Best, MD, about the FDA’s August 14 approval of zopapogene imadenovec-drba (Papzimeos), the first immunotherapy for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). The therapy, a non-replicating adenoviral vector–based immunotherapy, addresses a lifelong, HPV 6/11–driven disease previously managed only with repeated surgeries.