scholarly journals The use of atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy in first-line of metastatic small cell lung cancer. Case report

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-298
Author(s):  
Nikolai A. Ognerubov ◽  
Tatyana S. Antipova

Background. Lung cancer (LC) occupies a leading position among malignant tumors in the world, it accounts for 11.4% of the total malignant neoplasms. In 2020, there were 2 206 771 new cases of LC and 1 796 144 deaths worldwide. Among the histological variants, small cell LC (SCLC) has the most unfavorable outcomes. This variant is considered highly sensitive to chemotherapy. Despite some successes in the treatment of this disease, the results of treatment remain problematical. In recent years, the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has provided significant control of the course of the disease. Aim. To show the efficacy of atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy in patients with metastatic SCLC. Materials and methods. A 76-year-old patient with left lung cancer, IVA T4N3M1b, the right supraclavicular lymph node metastases, exudative pleuritis of the left lung was under observation. The histological investigation showed SCLC. Brain metastases were not detected. ECOG 0. Results. The patient was treated using atezolizumab 1200 mg in combination with carboplatin 5 AUC and etoposide 100 mg/m2 on days 1, 2, 3 for four cycles, followed by a maintenance therapy regimen with atezolizumab 1200 mg every 21 days. The patient received 21 injections during 14 months. The assessment of treatment effect was evaluated using combined 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission and X-ray computed tomography. As a result of the treatment, after 7 months, a complete clinical and morpho-metabolic regression of the tumor was reached, which persisted throughout the period of the treatment. Among the adverse events were detected grade 2 anemia and first-stage sensory neuropathy. No immune-related adverse events were observed. Conclusion. The addition of atezolizumab to etoposide + carboplatin as the first-line therapy for extensive-stage SCLC provides the long-term overall and disease-free survival with achieving the satisfactory quality of life in patients and acceptable drug tolerance.

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 506
Author(s):  
Selina K. Wong ◽  
Wade T. Iams

After being stagnant for decades, there has finally been a paradigm shift in the treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) with the emergence and application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Multiple trials of first-line ICI-chemotherapy combinations have demonstrated survival benefit compared to chemotherapy alone in patients with extensive-stage SCLC, establishing this as the new standard of care. ICIs are now being applied in the potentially curative limited-stage setting, actively being investigated as concurrent treatment with chemoradiation and as adjuvant treatment following completion of chemoradiation. This review highlights the evidence behind the practice-changing addition of ICIs in the first-line setting of extensive-stage SCLC, the potentially practice-changing immunotherapy trials that are currently underway in the limited-stage setting, and alternate immunotherapeutic strategies being studied in the treatment of SCLC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A840-A840
Author(s):  
Lindsey Shantzer ◽  
Sean Dougherty ◽  
Wendy Novicoff ◽  
John Melson ◽  
Daniel Reed ◽  
...  

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become the backbone of treatment for most driver-mutation negative, advanced non-small cell lung cancers. ICIs have been approved both as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy for front line management. While ICIs are generally regarded as well-tolerated, an unintended activation of the immune system can result in a variety of immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which can limit their use in severe cases. In patients with NSCLC treated with ICI monotherapy, the occurrence of an irAE and the development of multisystem irAEs have been associated with improved clinical outcomes, suggesting irAE occurrence could have prognostic implications.1–4 However, in patients treated with combination immunotherapy plus chemotherapy, the correlation between irAEs and survival has not been completely elucidated.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective chart review of 94 patients with advanced NSCLC treated with a combination of ICI plus chemotherapy between 2015 and 2021 to evaluate for a correlation between irAE occurrence and overall survival (OS). Patients were divided into two groups: those who experienced at least one irAE and those who did not experience an irAE. To account for immortal time bias, we conducted landmark analyses at 12 and 24 weeks. We additionally investigated the impact of multisystem irAEs on clinical outcomes and described the profile of irAEs observed at our institution.ResultsAmong the 94 evaluable patients identified in our population, 43.6% experienced at least one irAE. Of those patients who experienced an irAE, 26 (63.4%) experienced a single irAE, 9 (22.0%) experienced 2 irAEs, and 6 (14.6%) experienced 3 or more irAEs. The most commonly observed irAEs were dermatitis followed by pneumonitis and colitis. In our cohort, patients with at least one irAE had significantly longer median OS (16.8 mos vs 9.8 mos) compared to those who did not experience an irAE (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.43–0.76, p=0.011) (figure 1). Landmark survival analyses at 12 and 24 weeks continued to support significant differences in median OS based on presence or absence of an irAE (HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.24–0.46, and HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.21–0.60 respectively). Among patients with at least one irAE, the subset of patients who experienced multiple irAEs had further improved median OS compared to those with a single irAE.ConclusionsIn patients with advanced NSCLC treated with combination ICI plus chemotherapy, the occurrence of an irAE is associated with improved overall survival.ReferencesTeraoka S, Fujimoto D, Morimoto T, et al. Early Immune-related adverse events and association with outcome in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with Nivolumab: a prospective cohort study. Journal of Thoracic Oncology : Official Publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2017;12(12):1798–1805. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2017.08.022.Ricciuti B, Genova C, De Giglio A, et al. Impact of immune-related adverse events on survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab: long-term outcomes from a multi-institutional analysis. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology 2019;145(2):479–485. doi:10.1007/s00432-018-2805-3.Toi Y, Sugawara S, Kawashima Y, et al. Association of immune-related adverse events with clinical benefit in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab. The Oncologist. 2018;23(11):1358–1365. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2017-0384.Shankar B, Zhang J, Naqash AR, et al. Multisystem immune-related adverse events associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. JAMA Oncol 2020;6(12):1952–1956. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2020.5012Ethics ApprovalThis research study obtained ethics approval by the institutional review board at the University of Virginia, IRB# 19083.Abstract 803 Figure 1Overall Survival by presence or absence of an irAE in patients with advanced lung cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors plus chemotherapy


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shetal A. Patel ◽  
David E. Gerber ◽  
Allison Deal ◽  
Kathe Douglas ◽  
Chad V. Pecot ◽  
...  

BackgroundInduction with four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy was the standard of care for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) until the approval of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in the first-line setting. Switch maintenance therapy has shown promise in improving survival by exposing patients to novel, non-cross–resistant agents earlier in their treatment course.MethodsWe performed this open-label, three-arm, randomized phase II study (NCT02684461) to evaluate three sequences of consolidation with pembrolizumab and nab-paclitaxel in patients without progressive disease post induction chemotherapy. Consolidation was either sequential with pembrolizumab for four cycles followed by nab-paclitaxel for four cycles (P→A), nab-paclitaxel followed by pembrolizumab (A→P), or concurrent nab-paclitaxel and pembrolizumab for four cycles (AP).ResultsTwenty patients were randomized before the study was closed early due to the approval of first-line checkpoint inhibitors. We found that consolidation is feasible and well tolerated, with 30% of patients experiencing grade 3 toxicity. The median progression-free survival and OS in months (95% CI) in P→A were 10.1 (1.5–NR), 27.6 (1.7–NR); 8.4 (1.2–9.0), 12.7 (4.4–NR) in A→P; and 10.2 (5.1–NR), NR. Quality of life as measured by FACT-L improved in the majority of patients during the course of the study.ConclusionSequential and concurrent consolidation regimens are well tolerated and have encouraging overall survival in patients with metastatic NSCLC.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao-chuan Ma ◽  
Yi-hong Liu ◽  
Kai-lin Ding ◽  
Yu-feng Liu ◽  
Wen-jie Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Whereas there are many pharmacological interventions prescribed for patients with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)- rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), comparative data between novel generation ALK-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) remain scant. Here, we indirectly compared the efficacy and safety of first-line systemic therapeutic options used for the treatment of ALK-rearranged NSCLC. Methods We included all phase 2 and 3 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing any two or three treatment options. Eligible studies reported at least one of the following outcomes: progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), or adverse events of grade 3 or higher (Grade ≥ 3 AEs). Subgroup analysis was conducted according to central nervous system (CNS) metastases. Results A total of 9 RCTs consisting of 2484 patients with 8 treatment options were included in the systematic review. Our analysis showed that alectinib (300 mg and 600 mg), brigatinib, lorlatinib and ensartinib yielded the most favorable PFS. Whereas there was no significant OS or ORR difference among the ALK-TKIs. According to Bayesian ranking profiles, lorlatinib, alectinib 600 mg and alectinib 300 mg had the best PFS (63.7%), OS (35.9%) and ORR (37%), respectively. On the other hand, ceritinib showed the highest rate of severe adverse events (60%). Conclusion Our analysis indicated that alectinib and lorlatinib might be associated with the best therapeutic efficacy in first-line treatment for major population of advanced NSCLC patients with ALK-rearrangement. However, since there is little comparative evidence on the treatment options, there is need for relative trials to fully determine the best treatment options as well as the rapidly evolving treatment landscape.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21218-e21218
Author(s):  
Leeseul Kim ◽  
Young Kwang Chae ◽  
Chan Mi Jung ◽  
Emma Yu ◽  
Alice Daeun Lee ◽  
...  

e21218 Background: Early recognition of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) of immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICI) is important. Circulating proteome reflects host response to diseases and is being explored as a marker for response to immunotherapy. We previously have reported that a serum-based proteomics test, Primary Immune Response (PIR) demonstrated a trend that PIR-sensitive patients are more likely to tolerate ICI treatment longer without developing irAEs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The VeriStrat test is another serum-based proteomic assay, which was reported to be predictive of survival outcomes for all treatment regimens and lines of therapy including ICI in NSCLC. We explored the associations between the VeriStrat test and developing irAEs in NSCLC patients treated with ICI. Methods: Data of 70 consented NSCLC patients treated with any regimens and lines of therapy including ICI were collected. Samples were grouped into either VeriStrat ‘Good’(VS-G) or VeriStrat ‘Poor’(VS-P). We analyzed the durations from the immunotherapy initiation to each episode of irAE and each irAE above grade 2 using log-rank test. IrAEs were graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v5.0. Results: Among the 70 patients, 18 patients (25%) experienced one or more irAEs. There was no significant difference in ‘Time to first irAE’ between VS-G and VS-P (p = 0.72, HR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.29-2.32). Among 48 VS-G patients, 12(25%) had one or more irAE and 5(10%)had irAE graded over 2. Among 22 VS-P patients, 6(27%) had one or more irAE and 2(9%) had irAE graded over 2. There was no significant difference between VS-G and VS-P groups in the development of irAE and irAE graded over 2. Conclusions: There was no statistically significant association between the VeriStrat test and the development of irAEs. Further studies are warranted to investigate proper serum based proteomic assay to predict the development of irAE.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21007-e21007
Author(s):  
Marco Tagliamento ◽  
Giuseppa De Luca ◽  
Maria Giovanna Dal Bello ◽  
Luca Longo ◽  
Chiara Dellepiane ◽  
...  

e21007 Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) have demonstrated activity in the first-line setting of advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, a proportion of patients progresses to immunotherapy, hence the definition of prognostic and predictive factors is of interest. Potentially, the expression pattern of gene sets can serve as clinical indicator. We hereby present data from a pilot study of a larger project of gene expression analysis in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with ICIs, to explore the baseline expression level of single and grouped-in-pathways genes and to draw correlations with the overall survival (OS). Methods: We performed a retrospective transcriptome analysis of diagnostic cancer tissue from 14 consecutive patients with advanced stage NSCLC with PD-L1 expression > 50% treated with anti-PD-1 pembrolizumab as first-line. Two hundred ng of RNA was profiled by Nanostring technology using the human nCounter® PanCancer IO 360™ Panel, that includes 770 genes from 14 different immune cell types, common checkpoint inhibitors, Cancer-Testis antigens, and genes covering both the adaptive and innate immune response. Data analysis was performed by nCounter Advanced Analysis (version 2.0.134) plug in for nSolver Software and R package. Results: The median age of patients was 71 years (range 59-88), most were males (78%) with an ECOG performance status ranging from 0 to 1 (86%). All patients were smokers or former smokers. Seven out of 14 patients (50%) had a partial/complete response as best response, whereas the remaining population reported disease progression, 3 of whom died before the first CT-scan evaluation. The median OS was 12 months (range 1–40). The 770-tumor/immune gene expression profiling reported 11 genes (6 overexpressed and 5 down-modulated in patients with a survival under the median), which were significantly associated with poor outcome ( p-value < 0.01). Notably, when we adjusted the expression data to the site of biopsy (tumor tissue vs. neoplastic lymph node), we identified a 27-gene signature ( ATG5, BMI1, CASP1, CCL11, CCL8, CD164, CD86, CD97, EGR1, FADD, FOS, HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, IFITM1, IRF3, LY96, MCAM, NFKBIA, RRAD, SMAD2, STAT6, TLR3, TNFAIP3, TNFRSF1A, TOLLIP, VEGFC, and YTHDF2) able to separate patients with a survival below or above the median. The in-silico prediction of this signature showed that the antigen processing pathway (HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1), already described as an immune checkpoint resistance mechanism, was significantly down-modulated in long survivors. Conclusions: By a multiplexed analysis of gene expression through messenger RNA digital detection, we identified a gene set that, if confirmed, might have a prognostic value in patients with advanced stage NSCLC with PD-L1 expression >50% treated with pembrolizumab as first-line.


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