OA13.07 Neoadjuvant Atezolizumab in Resectable NSCLC Patients: Immunophenotyping Results from the Interim Analysis of the Multicenter Trial LCMC3

The oncologic efficacy of extended resections for lung cancer

Extended lung resections for T3-T4 non-small-cell lung cancer remain challenging. Multimodal management is mandatory in multidisciplinary tumor boards, and here the determination of resectability is key. Long-term oncologic efficacy depends mostly on complete resection (R0) and the extent of N2 disease. The development of novel innovative treatments (targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors) sets interesting perspectives to reinforce current therapeutic options in the induction and adjuvant setting.

Dynamic 18 F-FDG PET/CT can predict the major pathological response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

Major pathological response (MPR) is a potential surrogate for overall survival. We determined whether the dynamic changes in ¹⁸ F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT) were associated with MPR in patients receiving neoadjuvant immunotherapy. Forty-four patients with stage II-III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy and radical surgery were enrolled. Moreover, ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT scans were performed at baseline and within 1 week before surgery to evaluate the disease. All histological sections were reviewed to assess MPR. The detailed clinical features of the patients were analyzed. The reliability of the clinical variables was assessed in differentiating between MPR and non-MPR using logistic regression. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified the SUVmax changes threshold most associated with MPR. Most of the patients were pathologically diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma and received anti-PD-1 antibodies plus chemotherapy. The immunotherapy regimens included nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and camrelizumab. MPR was observed in more than half of lesions. Tumors with MPR had a higher decrease in the longest dimension on dynamic PET/CT than those without MPR. Furthermore, the decline in SUVmax was significantly different between MPR and non-MPR diseases, and MPR lesions had a prominent mean reduction in SUVmax. SUVmax reduction was independently associated with MPR in the multivariate regression. On ROC analysis, the threshold of SUVmax decrease in 60% was associated with MPR. Dynamic changes in SUVmax were associated with MPR. The tumors with MPR showed a greater PET/CT response than those without MPR. A SUVmax decrease of more than 60% is more likely to result in an MPR after receiving neoadjuvant immunotherapy.

Pathological Response and Immune Biomarker Assessment in Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma Receiving Neoadjuvant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Simple Summary

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy for the treatment of resectable non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) due to the clinical benefits reported in several clinical trials. In these settings, the pathological assessment of the tumor bed to quantify a pathological response has been used as a surrogate method of clinical benefit to neoadjuvant therapy. In addition, several clinical trials are including the assessment of tissue-, blood-, or host-based biomarkers to predict therapy response and to monitor the response to neoadjuvant treatment. In this manuscript, we provide an overview of current recommendations for the evaluation of pathological response and describe potential biomarkers used in clinical trials of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in resectable NSCLC.

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality worldwide. Adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy have been used in the perioperative setting of non-small-cell carcinoma (NSCLC); however, the five-year survival rate only improves by about 5%. Neoadjuvant treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has become significant due to improved survival in advanced NSCLC patients treated with immunotherapy agents. The assessment of pathology response has been proposed as a surrogate indicator of the benefits of neaodjuvant therapy. An outline of recommendations has been published by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) for the evaluation of pathologic response (PR). However, recent studies indicate that evaluations of immune-related changes are distinct in surgical resected samples from patients treated with immunotherapy. Several clinical trials of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in resectable NSCLC have included the study of biomarkers that can predict the response of therapy and monitor the response to treatment. In this review, we provide relevant information on the current recommendations of the assessment of pathological responses in surgical resected NSCLC tumors treated with neoadjuvant immunotherapy, and we describe current and potential biomarkers to predict the benefits of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in patients with resectable NSCLC.

Short-term outcome of neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Previously reported results have shown promising efficacy of neoadjuvant immunotherapy for resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, no randomized control trials comparing neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chemotherapy have yet been reported. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the superiority of neoadjuvant immunotherapy compared with standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy in resectable NSCLC in terms of short-term clinical outcomes and surgical outcomes.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the ClinicalTrials.gov database, Web of Science, and abstracts derived from multiple major cancer meetings up to March 1, 2020. Short-term clinical outcomes (including objective response rate [ORR], major pathologic response, and pathologic complete response [pCR]) and surgical outcomes (including surgical resection rate and R0 resection rate) were reported. Data were summarized as the estimated pooled value of each evaluated index. The risk of bias of included studies was assessed using standard methods.

Results

This systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 trials on neoadjuvant immunotherapy and neoadjuvant chemotherapy for NSCLC included 1795 patients. Patients who received Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitors (NeoIO) alone (13.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 9.0%-19.3%) had the lowest ORR compared with those who received NeoIO plus chemotherapy (CT) (62.5%; 95% CI, 54.4%-70.0%) or CT alone (41.6%; 95% CI, 36.8%-46.7%) (NeoIO vs CT, P < .001; NeoIO + CT vs CT, P < .001). Receipt of NeoIO + CT (36.2%; 95% CI, 19.2%-57.6%) was associated with an elevated pCR rate compared with receipt of NeoIO alone (10.6%; 95% CI, 6.5%-16.9%; P < .001) or standard CT (7.5%; 95% CI, 5.7%-9.8%; P < .001). Neoadjuvant CT (87.2%; 95% CI, 74.9%-94.0%) was associated with a lower R0 resection rate compared with NeoIO alone (92.7%; 95% CI, 83.4%-97.0%; P = .360) or NeoIO + CT (91.6%; 95% CI, 84.3%-95.7%; P = .409). Meta-regression showed that a higher proportion of stage III patients was correlated with decreased surgical resection and R0 resection rates, whereas no impact was observed with neoadjuvant immunotherapy.

Conclusions

Current data suggest that compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, immunotherapy-based regimens may provide superior pathological response along with a higher rate of complete resection. Immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy in neoadjuvant chemotherapy may be a more favorable clinical option. Further randomized controlled trials are warranted to provide long-term results of neoadjuvant immunotherapy for localized NSCLC and help guide clinical practice.

Predictors of Response, Progression-Free Survival, and Overall Survival in Patients With Lung Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Monoclonal antibodies that target immune checkpoint proteins, so-called immune checkpoint inhibitors, prevent tumor evasion of the immune system and are often effective in the treatment of lung cancer. Studies have revealed improved objective response rates, progression-free survival, and overall survival with immune checkpoint inhibitors when used in both first and subsequent-line settings. Unfortunately, only a subset of unselected patients with lung cancer responds to these therapies. An important area of ongoing research is to identify biomarkers that can predict which patients are most likely to derive clinical benefit. This review will discuss established and emerging biomarkers from some of the clinical trials that have demonstrated the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of both NSCLC and SCLC.