Adding VEGF inhibitor to PD-1 blocker in addition to chemotherapy is better than a chemotherapy-alone regimen as a second-line therapy after TKI failure. This is true especially in patients with tumors with high PD-L1 expression, with not much besides chemotherapy as second-line therapy for those patients (or other clinical trials) that may be a better option that includes immunotherapy.
In the treatment of non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a driver mutation, the role of anti–PD-(L)1 antibody after tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) remains unclear. This randomized, open-label, multicenter, phase III study evaluates the efficacy of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, paclitaxel, and carboplatin (ABCP ) in EGFR- or ALK-mutated NSCLC that progressed before TKI therapy.
We compared the clinical efficacy of ABCP followed by maintenance therapy with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab with pemetrexed plus carboplatin or cisplatin (PC) followed by pemetrexed maintenance. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS).
A total of 228 patients with activating EGFR mutation (n = 215) or ALK translocation (n = 13) were enrolled from 16 sites in the Republic of Korea and randomly assigned at 2:1 ratio to either ABCP (n = 154) or PC arm (n = 74). The median follow-up duration was 26.1 months (95% CI, 24.7 to 28.2). Objective response rates (69.5% v 41.9%, P < .001) and median PFS (8.48 v 5.62 months, hazard ratio [HR], 0.62 [95% CI, 0.45 to 0.86]; P = .004) were significantly better in the ABCP than PC arm. PFS benefit increased as PD-L1 expression increased, with an HR of 0.47, 0.41, and 0.24 for PD-L1 ≥1%, ≥10%, and ≥50%, respectively. Overall survival was similar between ABCP and PC arm (20.63 v 20.27 months, HR, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.69 to 1.46]; P = .975). The safety profile of the ABCP arm was comparable with that previously reported, with no additional safety signals, but higher rates of treatment-related adverse events were observed compared with the PC arm.
To our knowledge, this study is the first randomized phase III study to demonstrate the clinical benefit of anti–PD-L1 antibody in combination with bevacizumab and chemotherapy in patients with EGFR- or ALK-mutated NSCLC who have progressed on relevant targeted therapy.
Another possible option for first line NSCLC EGFR mutated (non-exon 20) is Osimertinib (osi). Osi and chemotherapy had less brain metastases. And with Amivantamab and Lazertinib (EGFR inhibitor), the combination had better PFS and OS (HR0.8). Higher toxicity though with 10% discontinuation vs 3% for Osimertinib. This is interim analysis, toxicity was EGFR related mostly.
Osimertinib resulted in a significant progression-free survival benefit as compared with placebo: the median progression-free survival was 39.1 months with osimertinib versus 5.6 months with placebo in the EGFR mutated patients. Osmiertinib shows efficacy in patients with EGFR mutation who underwent curative surgery or chemoradiotherapy.
Perioperative nivolumab (Nivo) showed a 20% 18-month EFPS improvement. This is another option to consider for your patients with stage IIA-IIIB NSCLC. Of note, the study arm received chemo + Nivo x 4 cycles preoperatively, then 12 months of Nivo therapy, and toxicities were as expected.
FCS medical oncologist and hematologist Ernesto Bustinza-Linares, MD has co-authored an abstract published in the American Society of Clinical Oncology Journal, JCO Precision Oncology, that uncovers a new testing method to determine personalized care options for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The abstract’s authors address the limitations of existing guidelines that recommend checkpoint immunotherapy, sometimes in combination with chemotherapy, for treating NSCLC, which often discounts patient variability and immune factors. The findings from the study show that by incorporating additional plasma proteome-based testing, combined with the standard protein inhibitor testing, clear differences in patient outcomes were observed after applying targeted treatments based on the testing results.
This is another target for adjuvant therapy. The results are impressive. Notice that there was no chemotherapy in the study arm. Patients started on alectinib after surgery. Chemotherapy is losing ground to more tolerable treatments, more to follow, most likely, in the future.
FCS Hematology Oncology Review creates a platform for our physician network to observe the most recent articles and studies available in the oncology and hematology world. By sharing these articles we are building our wealth of knowledge of new observations and treatments as they come available.
