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Pembrolizumab Plus Chemo Promising for Treatment of NSCLC
In patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that lack targetable mutations, pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy has shown promising results, according to research presented by Augustine Lau, MD, New Century Health, Brea, California, and colleagues at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2021 Virtual Annual Conference.
“Since its approval in 2018, guidelines have recommended pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy in untreated patients who have advanced NSCLC cancer that lack targetable mutations. When combined with chemotherapy, pembrolizumab improves progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival,” wrote Dr Lau et al.
Eligible patients included those with metastatic NSCLC that received first line treatment between January 1, 2019 and July 31, 2020. Patients with non-squamous NSCLC were broken down into two groups, the control (cisplatin or carboplatin and pemetrexed) and the treatment (cisplatin or carboplatin, pemetrexed, and pembrolizumab). Groups were also classified by ECOG scores of 1 and 1 versus 2+.
There were no group differences found across age, gender and weight (all P >.05). For patients with non-squamous NSCLC with ECOG scores of 0 and 1, those in the treatment group (92.2%, n=914) were more likely to have a duration ≥90 days (χ2=156.53, P <.001) when compared with the control group (70.4%, n=1,308). For patients with squamous NSCLC with ECOG scores of 0 and 1, those in the treatment group (90.4%, n=426) were more likely to have a duration ≥90 days (χ2=110.95, P <.001) compared with those in the treatment group (62.7%, n=980). Results for patients with ECOG scores of 2+ were similar.
“The findings indicate that metastatic NSCLC patients on pembrolizumab with chemotherapy are more likely to remain on therapy past 90 days as compared to the control group,” concluded Dr Lau et al.—Emily Bader
Lau A, Delaisla J, Dang J, et al. Pembrolizumab in Metastatic Non-Squamous and Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Real World Data Results. Presented at: the NCCN 2021 Virtual Annual Conference. March 18-20,2021; Virtual. Abstract CLO21-020.
