Symptomatic Pneumonitis With Durvalumab After Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Unresectable Stage III NSCLC

Introduction

In the placebo-controlled, phase 3 PACIFIC trial, durvalumab significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) (p < 0.0001) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.00251) in patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC and no progression after platinum-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT). Pneumonitis or radiation pneumonitis (PRP) was common in both arms. We report exploratory analyses evaluating the association of symptomatic (grade ≥2) PRP (G2+PRP) with baseline factors and clinical outcomes.

Methods

Patients with WHO performance status of 0 or 1 were randomized (2:1) to 12 months of durvalumab or placebo, 1 to 42 days after cCRT. Associations between baseline factors and on-study G2+PRP in durvalumab-treated patients were investigated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. PFS and OS were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for time-dependent G2+PRP plus covariates for randomization stratification factors without and with additional baseline factors.

Results

On-study G2+PRP occurred in 94 of 475 (19.8%) and 33 of 234 patients (14.1%) on durvalumab and placebo, respectively (median follow-up, 25.2 mo); grade greater than or equal to 3 PRP was uncommon (4.6% and 4.7%, respectively). Time to onset and resolution of G2+PRP was similar with durvalumab and placebo. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified patients treated in Asia, those with stage IIIA disease, those with performance status of 1, and those who had not received induction chemotherapy as having a higher risk of G2+PRP. PFS and OS benefit favoring durvalumab versus placebo was maintained regardless of time-dependent G2+PRP.

Conclusions

Factors associated with higher risk of G2+PRP with durvalumab after cCRT were identified. Clinical benefit was maintained regardless of on-study G2+PRP, suggesting the risk of this event should not deter the use of durvalumab in eligible patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC.

Durvalumab After Sequential Chemoradiotherapy in Stage III, Unresectable NSCLC: The Phase 2 PACIFIC-6 Trial

INTRODUCTION

On the basis of the findings of the phase 3 PACIFIC trial (NCT02125461), durvalumab is standard of care for patients with stage III, unresectable NSCLC and no disease progression after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT). Many patients are considered unsuitable for cCRT owing to concerns with tolerability. The phase 2 PACIFIC-6 trial (NCT03693300) evaluates the safety and tolerability of durvalumab after sequential CRT (sCRT).

METHODS

Patients with stage III, unresectable NSCLC and no progression after platinum-based sCRT were enrolled to receive durvalumab (1500 mg intravenously) every 4 weeks for up to 24 months. The primary end point was the incidence of grade 3 or 4 adverse events possibly related to treatment occurring within 6 months. Secondary end points included investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS; Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1) and overall survival.

RESULTS

Overall, 117 patients were enrolled (59.8% with performance status >0, 65.8% aged ≥65 y, and 37.6% with stage IIIA disease). Median treatment duration was 32.0 weeks; 37.6% of patients remained on treatment at data cutoff (July 15, 2021). Grade 3 or 4 AEs occurred in 18.8% of patients. Five patients had grade 3 or 4 possibly related adverse events within 6 months (incidence: 4.3%; 95% confidence interval: 1.4-9.7), including two pneumonitis cases. Two patients (1.7%) had grade 5 AEs of any cause. Survival data maturity was limited. Median PFS was 10.9 months (95% confidence interval: 7.3-15.6), and 12-month PFS and overall survival rates were 49.6% and 84.1%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Durvalumab after sCRT had a comparable safety profile with that observed with durvalumab after cCRT in PACIFIC and had encouraging preliminary efficacy in a frailer population.

Predictors of Pneumonitis in Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Definitive Chemoradiation Followed by Consolidative Durvalumab

Purpose

In patients with locally advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the standard of care is concurrent chemoradiation (CRT) followed by consolidative immunotherapy with durvalumab. Pneumonitis is a known adverse event of both radiation therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors such as durvalumab. We sought to characterize pneumonitis rates and dosimetric predictors of pneumonitis in a real-world population of patients with NSCLC treated with definitive CRT followed by consolidative durvalumab.

Methods and Materials

Patients with NSCLC from a single institution who were treated with definitive CRT followed by consolidative durvalumab were identified. Outcomes of interest included pneumonitis incidence, type of pneumonitis, progression-free survival, and overall survival.

Results

Sixty-two patients were included in our data set treated from 2018 to 2021 with a median follow-up of 17 months. The rate of grade 2+ pneumonitis in our cohort was 32.3%, and the rate of grade 3+ pneumonitis was 9.7%. Lung dosimetry parameters including V20 ≥30% and mean lung dose (MLD) >18 Gy were found to be correlated with increased rates of grade 2+ and grade 3+ pneumonitis. Patients with a lung V20 ≥30% had a grade 2+ pneumonitis rate at 1 year of 49.8% compared with 17.8% in patients with a lung V20 <30% (P = .015). Similarly, patients with an MLD >18 Gy had a grade 2+ pneumonitis rate at 1 year of 52.4% compared with 25.8% in patients with an MLD ≤18 Gy (P = .01). Moreover, heart dosimetry parameters including mean heart dose ≥10 Gy were found to be correlated with increased rates of grade 2+ pneumonitis. The estimated 1-year overall survival and progression-free survival of our cohort were 86.8% and 64.1%, respectively.

Conclusions

The modern management of locally advanced, unresectable NSCLC involves definitive chemoradiation followed by consolidative durvalumab. Pneumonitis rates were higher than expected in this cohort, particularly for patients with a lung V20 ≥30%, MLD >18 Gy, and mean heart dose ≥10 Gy, suggesting that more stringent radiation planning dose constraints may be needed.

Comprehensive Pneumonitis Profile of Thoracic Radiotherapy Followed by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor and Risk Factors for Radiation Recall Pneumonitis in Lung Cancer

Purpose

Whilst survival benefits of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) followed by immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) have been reported in patients with lung cancer, the potential high risk of treatment-related pneumonitis remains a concern. Asians may be more sensitive to lung toxicity than other races. This retrospective study intended to provide a comprehensive pneumonitis profile of TRT followed by ICI and investigate the risk factors from a Chinese cohort of lung cancer.

Methods and Materials

From January 2016 to July 2021, 196 patients with lung cancer who received TRT prior to ICI were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment-related pneumonitis, including checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis (CIP), radiation pneumonitis (RP), and radiation recall pneumonitis (RRP), were recorded and graded through medical records and chest computed tomography. Characteristics predictive of pneumonitis were assessed using logistic regression models, and the receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed to identify optimal cut points for quantitative variables.

Results

With a median follow-up of 18 months, a total of 108 patients (55.1%) developed treatment-related pneumonitis during ICI therapy, with an incidence of 25.5% for grade 2 or higher (G2+) and 4.1% for G3+. The overall rates of CIP, RP and RRP were 8.2% (n=16), 46.9% (n=92) and 7.1% (n=14), respectively. With a total mortality rate of 1.5%, vast majority of the patients recovered from pneumonitis or remained stable. No patients died of RRP. Half of the patients with G2+ RP who withheld ICI therapy restarted ICI safely after resolution of RP. The history of chronic pulmonary diseases (P=0.05), mean lung dose (MLD, P=0.038), percent volume of lung receiving ≥5 Gy (V5, P=0.012) and percent volume of lung receiving ≥20 Gy (V20, P=0.030) predicted the occurrence of RRP in univariate analyses. Interval between TRT and ICI less than 3 months was an independent predictor for G2+ treatment-related pneumonitis in a multivariate model (Odds ratio OR=2.787, P=0.004).

Conclusions

Treatment-related pneumonitis, especially RRP, is acceptable and manageable in the setting of TRT followed by ICI in this Asian population. Dosimetric parameters MLD, V5 and V20 may improve the predictions of RRP in clinical practice.

Research progress in immune checkpoint inhibitors for lung cancer in China

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have come to play an increasingly prominent role in the treatment of lung cancer, and some are recommended as a first-line treatment for late-stage non-small-cell lung cancer, either as a monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy. Accordingly, the indications of Food and Drug Administration-approved ICIs have increased. In this background, China has implemented various policies to encourage and accelerate the marketing of domestic and imported innovative antitumor drugs. Eight ICIs have been approved in China. Among these, four imported programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors have received approval for six indications, and one domestic PD-1 inhibitor has received approval for one indication for lung cancer in 2018. Numerous clinical trials of ICIs for lung cancer are underway in China. This review aims to summarize the recent advances and future directions of ICIs, including PD-1 inhibitors, PD-L1 inhibitors, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 inhibitors, bi-specific antibodies, and a novel inhibitor of T-cell immune-receptor with Ig and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif domains in immunotherapies for lung cancer in China.

Durvalumab after Chemoradiotherapy for PD-L1 Expressing Inoperable Stage III NSCLC Leads to Significant Improvement of Local-Regional Control and Overall Survival in the Real-World Setting

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by maintenance treatment with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab is a new standard of care for inoperable stage III NSCLC. The present study compares the oncological outcome of patients treated with CRT to those treated with CRT and durvalumab (CRT-IO) in the real-world setting. The analysis was performed based on the retro- and prospectively collected data of 144 consecutive inoperable stage III NSCLC patients treated between 2011-2020. Local-regional-progression-free-survival (LRPFS-defined as progression in the mediastinum, hilum and/or supraclavicular region at both sites and the involved lung), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were evaluated from the last day of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT). Median follow-up for the entire cohort was 33.1 months (range: 6.3-111.8) and median overall survival was 27.2 (95% CI: 19.5-34.9) months. In the CRT-IO cohort after a median follow-up of 20.9 (range: 6.3-27.4) months, median PFS was not reached, LRPFS (p = 0.002), PFS (p = 0.018), and OS (p = 0.005) were significantly improved vs. the historical cohort of conventional CRT patients. After propensity-score matching (PSM) analysis with age, gender, histology, tumor volume, and treatment mode, and exact matching for T-and N-stage, 22 CRT-IO patients were matched 1:2 to 44 CRT patients. Twelve-month LRPFS, PFS, and OS rates in the CRT-IO vs. CRT cohort were 78.9 vs. 45.5% (p = 0.002), 60.0 vs. 31.8% (p = 0.007), and 100 vs. 70.5% (p = 0.003), respectively. This real-world analysis demonstrated that durvalumab after CRT led to significant improvement of local-regional control, PFS, and OS in PD-L1 expressing inoperable stage III NSCLC patients compared to a historical cohort.

Real-world prospective analysis of treatment patterns in durvalumab maintenance after chemoradiotherapy in unresectable, locally advanced NSCLC patients

The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the clinical use and real-world efficacy of durvalumab maintenance treatment after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in unresectable stage, locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). All consecutive patients with unresectable, locally advanced NSCLC and PD-L1 expression (≥1%) treated after October 2018 were included. Regular follow up, including physical examination, PET/CT and/or contrast-enhanced CT-Thorax/Abdomen were performed every three months after CRT. Descriptive treatment pattern analyses, including reasons of discontinuation and salvage treatment, were undertaken. Statistics were calculated from the last day of thoracic irradiation (TRT). Twenty-six patients were included. Median follow up achieved 20.6 months (range: 1.9–30.6). Durvalumab was initiated after a median of 25 (range: 13–103) days after completion of CRT. In median 14 (range: 2–24) cycles of durvalumab were applied within 6.4 (range 1–12.7) months. Six patients (23%) are still in treatment and seven (27%) have completed treatment with 24 cycles. Maintenance treatment was discontinued in 13 (50%) patients: 4 (15%) patients developed grade 3 pneumonitis according to CTCAE v5 after a median of 3.9 (range: 0.5–11.6) months and 7 (range: 2–17) cycles of durvalumab. Four (15%) patients developed grade 2 skin toxicity. One (4%) patient has discontinued treatment due to incompliance. Six and 12- month progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 82% and 62%, median PFS was not reached. No case of hyperprogression was documented. Eight (31%) patients have relapsed during maintenance treatment after a median of 4.8 (range: 2.2–11.3) months and 11 (range: 6–17) durvalumab cycles. Two patients (9%) developed a local-regional recurrence after 14 and 17 cycles of durvalumab. Extracranial distant metastases and brain metastases as first site of failure were detected in 4 (15%) and 2 (8%) patients, respectively. Three (13%) patients presented with symptomatic relapse. Our prospective study confirmed a favourable safety profile of durvalumab maintenance treatment after completion of CRT in unresectable stage, locally advanced NSCLC in a real-world setting. In a median follow-up time of 20.6 months, durvalumab was discontinued in 27% of all patients due to progressive disease. All patients with progressive disease were eligible for second-line treatment.

Safety and Efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combined with radiotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

A combination of programmed cell death protein‐1 (PD‐1)/programmed cell death ligand‐1 (PD‐L1) inhibitors and radiotherapy (RT) is increasingly being used to treat non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the safety and efficacy of this approach remains controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to summarize the related research.

Methods

We searched the China Biology Medicine, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and PubMed databases for all the relevant studies. The Stata software, version 12.0 was used for the meta‐analysis.

Results

The study included 20 clinical trials that enrolled 2027 patients with NSCLC. Compared with non‐combination therapy, combination therapy using PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors and RT was associated with prolonged overall survival (OS) (1‐year OS: odds ratio [OR] 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.35–2.33, p = 0.000; 2‐year OS: OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.35–2.33, p = 0.000) and progression‐free survival (PFS) (0.5‐year PFS: OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.13–2.98, p = 0.014; 1‐year PFS: OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.29–3.38, p = 0.003; 2‐year PFS: OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.13–5.37, p = 0.023). Combination therapy also improved the objective response rate (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.06–7.19, p = 0.038) and disease control rate (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.21–2.68, p = 0.004). This meta‐analysis showed that compared with non‐combination therapy, combination therapy using PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors and RT did not increase the serious adverse event rates (≥grade 3); however, this approach increased the rate of grade 1–2 immune‐related or radiation pneumonitis. Subgroup analyses revealed that the sequence of PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors followed RT outperformed in which concurrent PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitor and RT followed PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitor. Combination of stereotactic body RT or stereotactic radiosurgery with PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors may be more effective than a combination of conventional RT with PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Conclusion

Combination therapy using PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors and RT may improve OS, PFS, and tumor response rates without an increase in serious adverse events in patients with advanced NSCLC. However, combination therapy was shown to increase the incidence of mild pneumonitis.

Immunotherapy in older patients with non-small cell lung cancer: Young International Society of Geriatric Oncology position paper

Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors against programmed cell death receptor (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand (PD-L1) has been implemented in the treatment pathway of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from locally advanced disease to the metastatic setting. This approach has resulted in improved survival and a more favourable toxicity profile when compared with chemotherapy. Following the successful introduction of single-agent immunotherapy, current clinical trials are focusing on combination treatments with chemotherapy or radiotherapy or even other immunotherapeutic agents. However, most of the data available from these trials are derived from, and therefore might be more applicable to younger and fitter patients rather than older and often frail lung cancer real-world patients. This article provides a detailed review of these immunotherapy agents with a focus on the data available regarding older NSCLC patients and makes recommendations to fill evidence gaps in this patient population.

Update on Targeted Therapies for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Durvalumab in Context

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed the therapeutic strategy and prognosis of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Nowadays, ICIs as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy are the standard of care treatment in advanced NSCLC, and in stage III, durvalumab (a programmed death ligand 1 inhibitor) is the unique drug approved as consolidation treatment after chemo-radiotherapy. This article reviews the pharmacological properties, clinical activity and safety of durvalumab as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy or other ICIs in the therapeutic strategy of NSCLC patients.