Real-World Time on Treatment with First-Line Pembrolizumab Monotherapy for Advanced NSCLC with PD-L1 Expression ≥ 50%: 3-Year Follow-Up Data

Real-World Safety and Outcome of First-Line Pembrolizumab Monotherapy for Metastatic NSCLC with PDL-1 Expression ≥ 50%: A National Italian Multicentric Cohort ("PEMBROREAL" Study)

Results from the phase III Keynote-024 clinical trial established pembrolizumab monotherapy as the first-line standard of care for patients with metastatic NSCLC who have PD-L1 expression ≥ 50%, EGFR, and ALK wild-type tumors. However, given the differences between patients treated in routine clinical practice and those treated in a clinical trial, real-world data are needed to confirm the treatment benefit in standard practice. Given the lack of data on large cohorts of patients with long follow-ups, we designed an observational retrospective study of patients with metastatic NSCLC who were treated with pembrolizumab, starting from its reimbursement eligibility until December 2020. The primary endpoints were PFS and OS, determined using the Kaplan-Meier method. Response and safety were also evaluated. We followed 880 patients (median follow-up: 35.1 months) until February 2022. Median PFS and OS were 8.6 months (95% CI: 7.6-10.0) and 25.5 months (95% CI: 21.8-31.6), respectively. We also found that ECOG PS, PD-L1 expression, and habitual smoking were prognostic factors for PFS, while age, sex, ECOG PS, habitual smoking and histology had an impact on OS. Multivariable analysis confirms the prognostic role of PD-L1 for PFS and of ECOG for both PFS and OS. 39.9% of patients reported an adverse event, but only 6.3% of patients discontinued therapy due to toxicity. Our results suggest a long-term benefit of pembrolizumab in the first-line setting, as well as a safety profile consistent with the results of Keynote-024. Many collected variables appear to influence clinical outcome, but results from these exploratory unadjusted analyses should be interpreted with caution.

Patterns of immunotherapy utilization for non-small cell lung cancer in Texas pre- and post-regulatory approval

PURPOSE

Immunotherapy has shown remarkable benefits for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) since approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Texas, however, ranks below the national average in access to treatment for NSCLC. This retrospective cohort study assessed first-line immunotherapy treatment patterns and associated factors pre- and post-FDA approval in Texas.

METHODS

Patients ≥18 years diagnosed with NSCLC from the Texas Cancer Registry database (2011-2018) and were stratified into pre- and post-FDA approval era. The rates of immunotherapy utilization were examined, and the average annual percent change (AAPC) in immunotherapy utilization across patient subgroups was compared. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associations of patient characteristics with immunotherapy utilization for patients with metastatic- and all-stage NSCLC.

RESULTS

A total of 13,501 and 9509 patients with NSCLC were identified in pre-post-approval periods, respectively. Post-approval, immunotherapy utilization increased from 1.7 to 13.0%, and AAPC from 54.8 to 82.7%. Pre-approval, patients living in a county with ≥20% of households below the poverty level were less likely to receive immunotherapy (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.61-0.94) while patients with private insurance were more likely to receive immunotherapy (OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.10-2.23). Post-approval, socioeconomic disparities were more prominent (10-19.9 and ≥20% of households below the poverty level: OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.66-0.90 and OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.60-0.86, respectively). Patients with metastatic NSCLC showed similar patterns of socioeconomic disparities pre- and post-approval.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that patients' socioeconomic status hinders immunotherapy utilization for NSCLC in Texas. This emphasizes the need for state health policy reforms such as Medicaid expansion and tailored cancer care strategies.

A real-world multicentre evaluation of atezolizumab plus platinum-etoposide chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer in Italy

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to analyze real-life data from a cohort of adult patients receiving atezolizumab in combination with carboplatin and etoposide for first-line treatment of ES-SCLC, in order to assess relative dose intensity (RDI), time-to-treatment discontinuation (TTD), time-to-treatment failure (TTF), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) of treatments as well as the correlation between these outcomes.

METHODS

An observational retrospective study was conducted. All patients treated with atezolizumab combined with carboplatin and etoposide for first-line treatment of ES-SCLC were included. Median TTD, TTF, PFS and OS were calculated in our cohort of patient by the Kaplan Meier method.

RESULTS

The curves obtained with the Kaplan Meier method of TTF and TTD are substantially similar, indicating a good concordance of the information extracted by the two different data sources. This tendency was confirmed also when the TTD versus PFS curves were compared. The median OS registered was 11.8 months. Patients with no liver metastases showed a longer median time of OS than patients with liver metastases. The mean value of RDI for the entire cohort was 87.4%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed that TTD, calculated from the administration data is a useful proxy of TTF as registered in the clinical chart. TTD is a real-world outcome that can be used to demonstrate the efficacy of drugs used for administered therapies. It can be used as an end point for RWE studies, where the evaluation is less structured and standardized.

Frontline pembrolizumab monotherapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with PD-L1 expression ≥50%: real-world outcomes in a US community oncology setting

Background

This study investigated real-world time on treatment (rwToT) and overall survival (OS) for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) who initiated first-line (1L) pembrolizumab monotherapy. We also explored discontinuation reasons and subsequent treatments, stratified by number of cycles among those who completed ≥17 cycles of 1L pembrolizumab.

Methods

Patients with mNSCLC without actionable genetic aberrations, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) 0-2 and unknown, and PD-L1 TPS ≥ 50% starting 1L pembrolizumab monotherapy between 24-Oct-2016 and 31-Dec-2018 within The US Oncology Network were identified retrospectively and evaluated using structured data, with a data cutoff of 30-Sep-2021. Patient characteristics and disposition were summarized using descriptive statistics. OS and rwToT were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier method for all ECOG PS and PS 0-1. A subgroup of patients who completed ≥17 cycles were evaluated using supplemental chart review data to discern reasons for discontinuation.

Results

Of the 505 patients with mNSCLC with PD-L1 TPS ≥50%, 61% had ECOG PS 0-1, 23% had ECOG PS 2, and 65% had nonsquamous histology. Median rwToT and OS of pembrolizumab were 7.0 (95% CI, 6.0-8.4) months and 24.5 (95% CI, 20.1-29.3) months, respectively. In the subgroup with ECOG PS 0-1, they were 7.6 months (95% CI, 6.2-9.2) and 28.8 months (95% CI, 22.4-37.5), respectively. Of the 103 patients who completed ≥17 cycles, 57 (55.3%) patients received 17 - 34 cycles and 46 (44.7%) patients received ≥35 cycles. Approximately 7.7% of the study population received pembrolizumab beyond 35 cycles. Most common reasons for discontinuation were disease progression (38.6%) and toxicity (19.3%) among patients who received 17-34 cycles of pembrolizumab, and disease progression (13.0%) and completion of therapy (10.9%) among patients who received ≥35 cycles.

Conclusion

Consistent with findings from KEYNOTE-024 and other real-world studies, this study demonstrates the long-term effectiveness of pembrolizumab monotherapy as 1L treatment for mNSCLC with PD-L1 TPS ≥50%. Among patients who completed ≥17 cycles, nearly half completed ≥35 cycles. Disease progression and toxicity were the most common reasons for discontinuation among patients who received 17-34 cycles of pembrolizumab. Reasons for discontinuation beyond 35 cycles need further exploration.

Time to treatment discontinuation in first-line non-small cell lung carcinoma: an overview

OBJECTIVE

Time To Discontinuation (TTD) is defined as the time from the start of treatment to the end of treatment, usually occurring due to loss of efficacy or occurrence of adverse events. It has become an important surrogate efficacy endpoint especially in real-world studies due to its correlation with endpoints such as Progression Free Survival (PFS). The aim of the study is to conduct a literature review of all studies reporting TTD in first-line therapy of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

All articles that reported TTD for any first-line treatment of NSCLC as of 30 June 2022 were extracted from the PubMed search engine. From these articles, the drugs, study type, and TTD values were extracted. A descriptive analysis of the studies was made, dividing the TTD by subgroup according to the type of treatment (traditional chemotherapy, target therapy, immunotherapy) and study design (clinical trials, real world studies).

RESULTS

Fifty-five studies were considered for the analysis, of which 12 were published in 2021; 28 were clinical trials and 27 were real-world studies. Thirty of the studies considered involved conventional chemotherapy and expressed TTD values from 1.4 to 4.5 months, 5 of the studies considered involved immunotherapy with TTD values from 2.1 to 7.4 months and 18 of the studies considered target therapy, with TTD values from 4 to 31 months. The clinical trials reported TTD values from 1.4 to 16 months and the real-world studies from 2 to 31 months.

CONCLUSION

Studies reporting TTD are increasing, most notably real-world studies. Given the increasing importance of TTD as an efficacy endpoint, it becomes critical to measure and monitor it in various therapeutic settings such as NSCLC. This is the first study to review all TTD values of drugs used in first-line NSCLC.

Limited role of KRAS mutation in guiding immunotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

The success of sotorasib (AMG-510) and adagrasib (MRTX-849) has resolved the problem of non-availability of drugs for patients with KRAS_G12C-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer. However, more research is required before these drugs can be introduced as a first-line treatment for those patients, and there are no available drugs for other non-G12C-mutated patients so far; therefore, immunotherapy remains the optimal first-line treatment in this situation. The role of KRAS in affecting the response to immunotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this review was to summarize the impact of KRAS mutations, a highly heterogeneous group, on immunotherapy to provide clinicians and researchers with relevant information that can help guide decision-making.

PD-L1 Expression in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Specimens: Association with Clinicopathological Factors and Molecular Alterations

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) targeting programmed cell death-1 or its ligand (PD-L1) have improved outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). High tumor PD-L1 expression, detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) typically on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) histological specimens, is linked to better response. Following our previous investigation on PD-L1 in cytological samples, the aim of this study was to further explore the potential impacts of various clinicopathological and molecular factors on PD-L1 expression. Two retrospective NSCLC cohorts of 1131 and 651 specimens, respectively, were investigated for PD-L1 expression (<1%/1−49%/≥50%), sample type, sample site, histological type, and oncogenic driver status. In both cohorts, PD-L1 was positive (≥1%) in 55% of the cases. Adenocarcinomas exhibited lower PD-L1 expression than squamous cell carcinomas (p < 0.0001), while there was no difference between sample types, tumor locations, or between the two cohorts in multivariate analysis (all p ≥ 0.28). Mutational status correlated significantly with PD-L1 expression (p < 0.0001), with the highest expression for KRAS-mutated cases, the lowest for EGFR-mutated, and the KRAS/EGFR wild-type cases in between. There was no difference in PD-L1 levels between different prevalent KRAS mutations (all p ≥ 0.44), while mucinous KRAS-mutated adenocarcinomas exhibited much lower PD-L1 expression than non-mucinous (p < 0.0001). Our data indicate that cytological and histological specimens are comparable for PD-L1 evaluation. Given the impact of KRAS mutations and the mucinous growth pattern on PD-L1 expression, these factors should be further investigated in studies on ICI response.