Long-Term Survival of Patients with Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer over Five Decades.

OBJECTIVE: Novel therapeutics and supportive care improved outcomes for metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) patients. Major advances over the past five decades include the introduction of combination chemotherapy, small molecules targeting mutant proteins, especially EGFR, and more recently immunotherapy. We aim to document real-world long-term survival over the past five decades. METHODS: Survival statistics were extracted from the Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for mNSCLC patients during 1973-2015. Two- and five-year survival (2yS and 5yS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and proportional hazard models. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 280,655mNSCLC patients diagnosed during 1973-2015. Longer survival was seen in younger, female, married, Asian/Pacific Islander race, adenocarcinoma, lower grade, more recent diagnosis, higher income, and chemotherapy-treated patients. 2yS increased during the study period from 2.6% to 12.9%, and 5yS increased from 0.7% to 3.2%. 2yS of patients <50 years of age rose from 2.1% to 22.8%, and their 5yS rose from 0.7% to 6.2%. 2yS of adenocarcinoma patients improved from 2.7% to 16.2%, and their improved 5yS from 1.1% to 3.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Between 1973 and 2015, there was a dramatic improvement in long-term survival, with an approximately five-fold increase in both 2yS and 5yS. Nonetheless, absolute numbers of long-term survivors remained low, with less than 4% living 5 years. This provides a baseline to compare long-term outcomes seen in the current generation of clinical trials.

Efficacy and Safety of BRAF Inhibitors With or Without MEK Inhibitors in BRAF-Mutant Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Findings From a Real-Life Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Real-life comparative data on BRAF inhibitors (BRAFi) and BRAFi + MEK inhibitors (MEKi) combination in BRAF-mutant (BRAFm) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is lacking. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive BRAFm advanced NSCLC patients (n = 58) treated in 9 Israeli centers in 2009-2018 were identified. These were divided according to mutation subtype and treatment into groups A1 (V600E, BRAFi; n = 5), A2 (V600E, BRAFi + MEKi; n = 15), A3 (V600E, no BRAFi; n = 7), B1 (non-V600E, BRAFi ± MEKi; n = 7), and B2 (non-V600E, no BRAFi; n = 23); one patient received both BRAFi and BRAFi + MEKi. Safety, objective response rate, progression-free survival with BRAFi ± MEKi, and overall survival were assessed. RESULTS: Objective response rate was 40%, 67%, and 33% in groups A1, A2, and B1, respectively (P = .5 for comparison between groups A1 and A2). In group B1, G469A and L597R mutations were associated with response to BRAFi + MEKi. Median progression-free survival was 1.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5-5.3), 5.5 months (95% CI, 0.7-9.3), and 3.6 months (95% CI, 1.5-6.7) for groups A1, A2, and B1, respectively (log-rank for comparison between groups A1 and A2, P = .04). Median overall survival with BRAFi ± MEKi was 1.7 months (95% CI, 0.5-NR), 9.5 months (95% CI, 0.2-14.9), and 7.1 months (95% CI, 1.8-NR) in groups A1, A2, and B1, respectively (log-rank for comparison between groups A1 and A2, P = .6). Safety profiles differed slightly, and similar treatment discontinuation rates were observed with BRAFi and BRAFi + MEKi. CONCLUSION: In the real-life setting, activity and safety of BRAFi + MEKi in V600E BRAFm NSCLC are comparable to those observed in prospective clinical trials; the combination of BRAFi + MEKi is superior to monotherapy with a BRAFi. Further research should be done to explore the impact of BRAFi + MEKi treatment on the natural history of BRAFm NSCLC.

Clinical Significance of Pancreatic Atrophy Induced by Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Case-Control Study.

Immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-related diarrhea is attributed to inflammatory colitis, with no other drug-related differential diagnosis. Here, we investigated the occurrence of pancreatic atrophy (PA) in ICI-treated cancer patients and its correlation to exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). Metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients (n = 403) treated with anti-PD-1 (n = 356) or anti-CTLA-4 (n = 47) were divided into a case group (radiologic evidence of PA); control group matched by age, gender, and previous lines of treatment; and colitis group (ICI-induced colitis). Quantitative pancreatic volumetry was used for calculation of the decrease in pancreatic volume over time (atrophy rate). Thirty-one patients (7.7%) developed PA compared with 41 matched controls (P = 0.006). Four patients developed EPI, all from the anti-PD-1-treated group, which resolved with oral enzyme supplementation. The atrophy rate did not correlate with EPI (P = 0.87). EPI-related diarrhea presented at a median of 9 months, whereas the diarrhea of anti-PD-1-induced colitis patients (n = 22) was presented at a median of 2 months (P = 0.029). ICI-induced PA is irreversible and can result in EPI. EPI should be suspected in cases of late-onset steroid-resistant diarrhea with features of steatorrhea and treated with oral enzyme supplements.

BRAF Mutant Lung Cancer: Programmed Death Ligand 1 Expression, Tumor Mutational Burden, Microsatellite Instability Status, and Response to Immune Check-Point Inhibitors.

INTRODUCTION: The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPi) in BRAF mutant NSCLC is unknown. METHODS: Multi-institutional retrospective chart review identified 39 patients with BRAF mutant NSCLC. The patients were divided into two groups: V600E (group A, n = 21) and non-V600E (group B, n = 18). Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability status were assessed in 29 (74%), 11 (28%), and 12 (31%) patients, respectively. Objective response rate, progression-free survival (PFS) with ICPi, and overall survival were analyzed. RESULTS: High (≥50%), intermediate (1-49%), and no (<1%) PD-L1 expression was observed in 8 of 19 (42%), 6 of 19 (32%), 5 of 19 (26%), and 5 of 10 (50%), 1 of 10 (10%), and 4 of 10 (40%) cases in groups A and B, respectively. Two tumors in group A showed high TMB (25%); none were microsatellite instability status-high. Twenty-two patients (group A, n = 12; group B, n = 10) received ICPi. Objective response rate with ICPi was 25% and 33% in groups A and B, respectively (p = 1.0). Median PFS with ICPi was 3.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6-6.6), and 4.1 months (95% CI: 0.1-19.6) in groups A and B, respectively (log-rank test = 0.81, p = 0.37). Neither BRAF mutation type nor PD-L1 expression affected the response probability/PFS. Median overall survival was not reached (95% CI: 13-NR) and comprised 21.1 months (95% CI: 1.8-NR) for patients who were and were not exposed to ICPi, respectively (log-rank test = 5.58, p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: BRAF mutant NSCLC is associated with high level of PD-L1 expression, low/intermediate TMB and microsatellite-stable status. ICPi have favorable activity both in BRAF V600E and BRAF non-V600E mutant NSCLC.