Extended survival for lung cancer patients with immunotherapy drug

Extended survival for lung cancer patients with immunotherapy drug

29 May 2015

Findings from a randomized phase 3 study indicate the immunotherapy treatment nivolumab PD-1 is an effective treatment option for patients with non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Among patients with advanced disease that worsened after receiving platinum-based chemotherapy, those treated with nivolumab lived on average three months longer than those treated with docetaxel chemotherapy.

Clinical study comparing nivolumab and standard second-line treatment, docetaxel

The study randomly assigned 582 patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC to treatment with nivolumab or docetaxel. The researchers pointed out that:

• Response rates were higher in the nivolumab group compared to the docetaxel group (19.2% vs. 12.4%).
• Responses also lasted significantly longer in the nivolumab group (17.1 months vs. 5.6 months, on average).
• The median overall survival was 12.2 months in the nivolumab group compared to 9.4 months in the docetaxel group.
• Of note, in the subgroup of patients with high levels of PD-L1 in their tumour (≥1% cells), the median survival with nivolumab exceeded 17 months as compared to 9 months for those treated with docetaxel.
• Nivolumab was well tolerated overall, with only 1 in 10 patients experiencing serious side effects, compared to more than half of patients in the docetaxel arm. Due to toxic side effects, 4.9% patients stopped nivolumab, and 14.9% patients stopped docetaxel. Nearly half of the patients who stopped treatment subsequently received systemic therapy.
• There was one treatment-related death in the docetaxel arm and none in the nivolumab arm.

Patients with higher levels of the biomarker PD-L1 experienced the greatest degree of benefit from nivolumab.

Nivolumab: a far easier option for patients

“This is the first phase 3 study to show that immunotherapy is effective against non-squamous cell NSCLC, and appears to be particularly active in patients with PD-L1-positive tumors,” said lead study author Luis Paz-Ares, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid, Spain. He added that “while nivolumab appears to be more potent against this most common lung cancer, it is important to note that it is also far easier on patients compared to the standard second-line treatment, docetaxel.”

Earlier this year, the FDA approved nivolumab as a second-line treatment for advanced squamous NSCLC. However, nivolumab is not yet available for patients with lung cancer in Europe.

Source: eCancer News