1
|
Shah M, Mamtani R, Marmarelis ME, Hennessy S. Chemoimmunotherapy vs. Immunotherapy for First Line Treatment of Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer With a PD-L1 Expression ≥50% or ≥90. Clin Lung Cancer 2023; 24:235-243. [PMID: 36935244 PMCID: PMC10149619 DOI: 10.1016/j.cllc.2023.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evidence about the comparative effectiveness of chemoimmunotherapy vs. immunotherapy alone in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) and high PD-L1 expression (≥50%) or very high PD-L1 expression (≥90%) is limited because of the lack of head-to-head clinical trials. OBJECTIVE To compare survival in aNSCLC patients receiving first-line chemoimmunotherapy vs. immunotherapy in both the PD-L1 expression ≥50% or ≥90% subgroups, accounting for potential confounders that may influence physician decision-making. METHODS This cohort study used a nationwide electronic health record derived database to identify newly diagnosed cases of aNSCLC patients with PD-L1 expression of ≥50% who initiated first-line systemic therapy between October 2016 and October 2021. The exposure of interest was first-line therapy with chemoimmunotherapy or immunotherapy among patients with PD-L1 expression ≥50% or ≥90%. Survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression. Propensity score-based inverse probability of weighting (IPW) was used to control for confounding. Because of nonproportionality of hazards, we estimated hazard ratios over the first 6 months and after 6 months for the overall cohort, and over the first 12 months and after 12 months for a subgroup of persons with a PD-L1 expression ≥90%. RESULTS We identified 3086 subjects who met inclusion criteria, of whom 32% received chemoimmunotherapy and 68% received immunotherapy alone. Chemoimmunotherapy was associated with no survival advantage vs. immunotherapy alone during the entire follow-up period (IPW-adjusted Hazard Ratio [aHR] 0.98, 95% CI, 0.86-1.12), but was associated with a survival benefit during the first 6 months (aHR 0.74, 95% CI, 0.61-0.90). Similarly, in the subgroup of patients with a PD-L1 expression ≥90%, chemoimmunotherapy was associated with no overall survival advantage during the entire follow-up period (aHR 0.99, 95% CI, 0.87-1.22), but was associated with a survival benefit during the first 12 months (aHR 0.74, 95% CI, 0.57-0.97). CONCLUSION Chemoimmunotherapy was not associated with an overall benefit over immunotherapy alone, although was associated with an early survival advantage in both the overall cohort and the subgroup of patients with a PD-L1 expression ≥90%. Future studies should focus on identifying the characteristics of higher risk patients that may benefit from the addition of chemotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohsin Shah
- Center for Real-world Effectiveness and Safety of Therapeutics (CREST), and Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Epidemiology and Drug Safety, IQVIA Real World Solutions, Wayne, PA.
| | - Ronac Mamtani
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Melina E Marmarelis
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Sean Hennessy
- Center for Real-world Effectiveness and Safety of Therapeutics (CREST), and Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Palmer AC, Izar B, Hwangbo H, Sorger PK. Predictable Clinical Benefits without Evidence of Synergy in Trials of Combination Therapies with Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitors. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:368-377. [PMID: 35045958 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-2275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Combinations of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) with other cancer therapies have been approved for advanced cancers in multiple indications, and numerous trials are under way to test new combinations. However, the mechanisms that account for the superiority of approved ICI combinations relative to their constituent monotherapies remain unknown. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We analyzed 13 phase III clinical trials testing combinations of ICIs with each other or other drugs in patients with advanced melanoma and lung, breast, gastric, kidney, and head and neck cancers. The clinical activity of the individual constituent therapies, measured in the same or a closely matched trial cohort, was used to compute progression-free survival (PFS) curves expected under a model of independent drug action. To identify additive or synergistic efficacy, PFS expected under this null model was compared with observed PFS by Cox regression. RESULTS PFS elicited by approved combination therapies with ICIs could be accurately predicted from monotherapy data using the independent drug action model (Pearson r = 0.98, P < 5 × 10-9, N = 4,173 patients, 8 types of cancer). We found no evidence of drug additivity or synergy except in one trial in which such interactions might have extended median PFS by 9 days. CONCLUSIONS Combining ICIs with other cancer therapies affords predictable and clinically meaningful benefit by providing patients with multiple chances of response to a single agent. Conversely, there exists no evidence in phase III trials that other therapies interact with and enhance the activity of ICIs. These findings can inform the design and testing of new ICI combination therapies while emphasizing the importance of developing better predictors (biomarkers) of ICI response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adam C Palmer
- Department of Pharmacology, Computational Medicine Program, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.,Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Benjamin Izar
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Columbia University Medical Center, Columbia Center for Translational Tumor Immunology, New York, New York
| | - Haeun Hwangbo
- Department of Pharmacology, Computational Medicine Program, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.,Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Peter K Sorger
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
First-line treatment options for advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50%: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2021; 71:1345-1355. [PMID: 34657171 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-021-03089-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) like pembrolizumab or atezolizumab have been approved as first-line monotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50%. However, emerging evidences have showed that ICI combinations (chemoimmunotherapy or dual-agent ICIs) argue to offer a higher response rate. In this network meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of first-line single-agent ICIs versus ICI combinations for advanced NSCLC patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50%. METHODS PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and the Clinicaltrials.gov were systematically searched to extract eligible literature until December 2020. Outcomes included overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR) and treatment related adverse events (TRAEs) of grades 3-5. RESULTS Fourteen studies with 3448 patients were included. The results showed that chemotherapy plus ICIs significantly improved PFS and ORR compared to chemotherapy, and sinti-chemo (HR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.20-0.49) and pembro-chemo (OR: 4.2, 95% CI: 2.6-6.7) ranked first. In terms of OS, cemiplimab provided the best benefit versus chemotherapy (HR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.43-0.77), followed by atezolizumab and pembro-chemo. In the subgroup analysis of histological type, pembro-chemo and sinti-chemo showed the best benefit of PFS in squamous and nonsquamous NSCLC, respectively, while there was no significant difference between ICI combinations with single-agent ICIs in OS. Moreover, the addition of chemotherapy to ICIs elevated toxicity compared to chemotherapy. CONCLUSION The study suggested that chemotherapy plus ICIs might improve PFS and ORR than single-agent ICIs for advanced NSCLC patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50%. However, it did not lead to OS benefit.
Collapse
|
4
|
Pathak R, Amini A, Hill A, Massarelli E, Salgia R. Immunotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases: Clinical Challenges and Future Directions. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:3407. [PMID: 34298620 PMCID: PMC8303291 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13143407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment landscape for patients with non-small cell lung cancers. Existing treatment paradigms for brain metastases in lung cancer patients leave patients with adverse neurocognitive function, poor quality of life, and dismal prognosis, thus highlighting the need to develop more effective systemic therapies. Although data are limited, emerging knowledge suggests promising activity and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors in brain metastases in non-small cell lung cancer patients. This review aims to summarize the current data, highlight the challenges of incorporating immune checkpoint inhibitors in treating these patients, and identify areas for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ranjan Pathak
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (A.H.); (E.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Arya Amini
- Department of Radiation Oncology, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA;
| | - Addie Hill
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (A.H.); (E.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Erminia Massarelli
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (A.H.); (E.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Ravi Salgia
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (A.H.); (E.M.); (R.S.)
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Bilusic M, Girardi D, Zhou Y, Jung K, Pei J, Slifker M, Chen Q, Meerzaman D, Alpaugh K, Young D, Flieder D, Gray P, Plimack E. Molecular Profiling of Exceptional Responders to Cancer Therapy. Oncologist 2020; 26:186-195. [PMID: 33210795 DOI: 10.1002/onco.13600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The vast majority of metastatic cancers cannot be cured. Palliative treatment may relieve disease symptoms by stopping or slowing cancer growth and may prolong patients' lives, but almost all patients will inevitably develop disease progression after initial response. However, for reasons that are not fully understood, a very few patients will have extraordinary durable responses to standard anticancer treatments. MATERIALS AND METHODS We analyzed exceptional responders treated at Fox Chase Cancer Center between September 2009 and November 2017. An exceptional response was defined as a complete response lasting more than 1 year or a partial response or stable disease for more than 2 years. Tumor samples were analyzed using an Ambry Genetics test kit with a 142-gene panel. Messenger RNA expression was evaluated using NanoString's nCounter PanCancer Pathways Panel and Immune Profiling Panel and compared with matched controls for gender, age, and cancer type. RESULTS Twenty-six exceptional responders with metastatic bladder, kidney, breast, lung, ovarian, uterine, and colon cancers were enrolled. Mutations were identified in 45 genes. The most common mutation was an EPHA5 nonsynonymous mutation detected in 87.5% of patients. Mutations in DNA damage repair pathway genes were also frequent, suggesting increased genome instability. We also found varying expression of 73 genes in the Pathways panel and 85 genes in the Immune Profiling panel, many of them responsible for improvement in tumor recognition and antitumor immune response. CONCLUSIONS The genomic instability detected in our exceptional responders, plus treatment with DNA damage compounds combined with favorable anticancer immunity, may have contributed to exceptional responses to standard anticancer therapies in the patients studied. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE With recent advances in the treatment of cancer, there is increased emphasis on the importance of identifying molecular markers to predict treatment outcomes, thereby allowing precision oncology. In this study, it was hypothesized that there is a "specific biologic signature" in the biology of the cancer in long-term survivors that allows sensitivity to systemic therapy and durability of response. Results showed that DNA damage repair pathway alterations, combined with favorable anticancer immunity, may have contributed to exceptional responses. It is very likely that an in-depth examination of outlier responses will become a standard component of drug development in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marijo Bilusic
- Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.,Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Daniel Girardi
- Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Yan Zhou
- Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kyungsuk Jung
- Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jianming Pei
- Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Qingrong Chen
- Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Daoud Meerzaman
- Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Denise Young
- Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Pathak R, De Lima Lopes G, Yu H, Aryal MR, Ji W, Frumento KS, Wallis CJD, Klaassen Z, Park HS, Goldberg SB. Comparative efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy versus immunotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A network meta-analysis of randomized trials. Cancer 2020; 127:709-719. [PMID: 33119177 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.33269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To the authors' knowledge, in the absence of head-to-head trials, it is unclear whether chemoimmunotherapy provides an additional overall survival (OS) benefit compared with immunotherapy alone in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The authors conducted a systematic literature review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy versus ICI. METHODS MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception to April 2020. Phase 3 trials evaluating the efficacy of first-line ICI or chemoimmunotherapy and reporting efficacy outcomes (OS, progression-free survival [PFS], and the overall response rate [ORR]) stratified by programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) status were included. NMA with a Bayesian random effects model was performed. RESULTS A total of 12 eligible trials comprising 7845 patients were included. In patients who were negative for PD-L1 (tumor proportion score [TPS] <1%), NMA comparing chemoimmunotherapy with dual-agent ICI failed to demonstrate a statistically significant difference with regard to OS, PFS, or the ORR. In patients with low PD-L1 (TPS 1%-49%), there was no statistically significant difference observed between chemoimmunotherapy compared with either single-agent ICI or dual-agent ICI with regard to OS or the ORR. In patients with high PD-L1 (TPS ≥50%), chemoimmunotherapy was found to be associated with an improved PFS and ORR compared with single-agent ICI, but not with dual-agent ICI. No differences in OS were observed with chemoimmunotherapy when compared with either single-agent or dual-agent ICIs. CONCLUSIONS Although chemoimmunotherapy appears to improve the ORR and PFS in patients with PD-L1-high tumors when compared with single-agent ICI, it does not appear to confer an OS benefit over single-agent or dual-agent ICI for patients with advanced NSCLC regardless of PD-L1 status. Prospective trials are needed to validate these findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ranjan Pathak
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Gilberto De Lima Lopes
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
| | - Han Yu
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Madan Raj Aryal
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York.,Department of Medicine (Medical Oncology), Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Wenyan Ji
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Katherine Stemmer Frumento
- Clinical Information Services, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Zachary Klaassen
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.,Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Henry S Park
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Sarah B Goldberg
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Soares A, Carmo R, Rodrigues C, Grilo IT, Grande E. Chemotherapy Plus Immune Check-Point Inhibitors in Metastatic Bladder Cancer. Bladder Cancer 2020. [DOI: 10.3233/blc-190260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Urothelial tumors are one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been the standard first-line treatment for metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). After nearly three decades of limited advances in the treatment, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are now available. Responses to immunotherapy (IO) may be long lasting and sustained but only occur in 20–30% of patients. Studies have shown that combining IO with different targeted therapies can lead to potentiating effects with promising results. The first result combining ICI plus chemotherapy shows positive outcomes over standard-of-care in first line mUC. The aim of this article is to review the results, the benefits and new challenges that the combination of chemotherapy and IO can bring to patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Soares
- Medical Oncology Department, Unidade Local de Saúde de Matosinhos, Matosinhos, Portugal
| | - Rafael Carmo
- Medical Oncology Department, Grupo Sasse Oncologia e Hematologia (SOnHe), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Catarina Rodrigues
- Medical Oncology Department, Centro Hospitalar de Entre Douro e Vouga, Portugal
| | - Inês Teles Grilo
- Medical Oncology Department, Centro Hospitalar de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
| | - Enrique Grande
- Medical Oncology Department, MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|