Serious Immune-related Adverse Events Are Associated With Greater Efficacy of Nivolumab Therapy Against Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate possible association between adverse events of nivolumab therapy and the effectiveness of treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Focusing on serious adverse events (i.e., those of grade ≥3), we evaluated overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), as well as objective response rate (ORR) to treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a set of patients from the TULUNG database of NSCLC treated with nivolumab in eight oncology centers. We evaluated OS data based upon this set. To reduce possible bias, we further evaluated a subgroup of patients treated at the University Hospital in Pilsen, where the occurrence of adverse events, PFS, and ORR were independently examined by two experienced physicians. Survival statistics were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox analysis. RESULTS: We observed significantly greater OS, PFS, and ORR in the group of patients experiencing adverse events upon nivolumab treatment versus in those patients without such events. Although the univariable model analyzing the data set of all patients demonstrated higher OS in patients with serious adverse events, only a nonsignificant trend was observed in the Cox multivariable model. In a subgroup of patients with PFS and ORR evaluation, we did observe significant, favorable effects for patients having had serious adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Patients experiencing severe adverse events show a tendency toward better OS, PFS, and ORR compared to patients without or having only mild adverse events with nivolumab treatment.

Prognostic Value of EGFR Exon-20 Insertions in Czech Patients With Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Per literature, patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon-20 insertions respond poorly to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). This study analyzed real-world data to examine the prognostic and predictive value of these mutations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Czech TULUNG Registry data, with data on multiple mutation types, collected in 2011-2020. RESULTS: We analyzed 554 (95.85%) patients with EGFR exon-19 deletions or exon-21 L858R substitutions and 24 (4.15%) patients with exon-20 insertions who received first-line high-value therapies. We summarized clinical characteristics and outcomes in all patients and by cohort. The risk of progression was statistically significantly higher (86%) in the exon-20 insertion cohort compared to the cohort with other mutations. Although not statistically significant, the risk of death was 44% higher in patients with exon-20 insertions. CONCLUSION: Advanced NSCLC patients with rare EGFR exon-20 insertions have a high risk of progression.

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Autologous dendritic cell-based immunotherapy (DCVAC/LuCa) and carboplatin/paclitaxel in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A randomized, open-label, phase I/II trial.

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of an active cellular immunotherapy (DCVAC/LuCa) and chemotherapy in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: SLU01 was a multicenter, open-label, parallel-group, randomized, phase I/II trial. NSCLC patients were randomized in a ratio of 1:1:1 to receive: DCVAC/LuCa and chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel; Group A); DCVAC/LuCa, chemotherapy, pegylated interferon-α2b, and hydroxychloroquine (Group B); or chemotherapy alone (Group C). DCVAC/LuCa was administered subcutaneously every 3-6 weeks (up to 15 doses). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). During the study, enrollment into Group B was discontinued for strategic reasons. RESULTS: Forty-five patients were randomized to Group A, 29 patients to Group B, and 38 patients to Group C. The median OS in the modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population was 3.7 months longer in Group A than in Group C (15.5 vs. 11.8 months; p = 0.0179; hazard ratio = 0.54; 95% confidence interval: 0.32-0.91). This OS effect was consistent across subgroups of the mITT population (females, males, current smokers, former smokers, and patients with non-squamous and squamous cell histology). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade reported in Groups A, B, and C, respectively, were neutropenia (50.0%, 29.6%, and 20.6%), fatigue (40.0%, 18.5%, and 20.6%), anemia (35.0%, 44.4%, and 32.4%), paresthesia (27.5%, 25.9%, and 17.6%), and alopecia (25.0%, 29.6%, and 41.2%). CONCLUSION: DCVAC/LuCa in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel extended OS and was well tolerated.

Comparison of Chemotherapeutic Regimens Frequently Used in Metastatic Non-squamous NSCLC Treatment.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Platinum-based chemotherapy with pemetrexed or paclitaxel/bevacizumab are regimens used in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment. We conducted a real-world study to compare the outcomes of these chemotherapeutic regimens. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated 1,534 patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC treated with platin/pemetrexed (n=1212) or platin/paclitaxel/bevacizumab (n=322) in 9 cancer centres in the Czech Republic. RESULTS: The regimen containing platin/paclitaxel/bevacizumab showed significantly better overall response rate (ORR) compared to the platin/pemetrexed [40.8% vs. 32.7% (p=0.008)] in the overall population and [55.0% vs. 38.8% (p=0.002)] in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 group. There was no significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in either of these two groups of patients. CONCLUSION: In our real-world data analysis, patients treated with platin/paclitaxel/bevacizumab had better overall response rate (ORR), but not PFS or OS. Thus, both treatment regimens are similarly effective. Their selection should therefore be based on the potential side effects.

Real-life Effectiveness of Afatinib Versus Gefitinib in Patients With Non-small-cell Lung Cancer: A Czech Multicentre Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: We investigated efficacy differences for afatinib versus gefitinib in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) according to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analysed data for 343 patients with NSCLC with performance status 1 having EGFR mutations treated with gefitinib or afatinib. Overall response rate (ORR) was tested by Fisher's exact test. Overall (OS) and progression-free (PFS) survival were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: ORR did not differ in any group or subgroup. Among all patients, we observed significantly longer PFS for those treated with afatinib vs. gefitinib (median 13.4 vs. 9.5 months, p=0.026), but only a nonsignificant trend was observed for OS. We showed nonsignificant trends of better PFS and OS using afatinib for exon 19 deletion and L858R subgroups. We observed no significant PFS differences for other EGFR mutations but a nonsignificant trend towards better OS for those treated with afatinib. CONCLUSION: Afatinib led to longer PFS for patients with common EGFR mutations but not for those with rare mutations.

Care of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer stage III - the Central European real-world experience.

Background Management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is affected by regional specificities. The present study aimed at determining diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including outcome of patients with NSCLC stage III in the real-world setting in Central European countries to define areas for improvements. Patients and methods This multicentre, prospective and non-interventional study collected data of patients with NSCLC stage III in a web-based registry and analysed them centrally. Results Between March 2014 and March 2017, patients (n=583) with the following characteristics were entered: 32% females, 7% never-smokers; ECOG performance status (PS) 0, 1, 2 and 3 in 25%, 58%, 12% and 5%, respectively; 21% prior weight loss; 53% squamous carcinoma, 38% adenocarcinoma; 10% EGFR mutations. Staging procedures included chest X-ray (97% of patients), chest CT (96%), PET-CT (27%), brain imaging (20%), bronchoscopy (89%), endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) (13%) and CT-guided biopsy (9%). Stages IIIA/IIIB were diagnosed in 55%/45% of patients, respectively. N2/N3 nodes were diagnosed in 60%/23% and pathologically confirmed in 29% of patients. Most patients (56%) were treated by combined modalities. Surgery plus chemotherapy was administered to 20%, definitive chemoradiotherapy to 34%, chemotherapy only to 26%, radiotherapy only to 12% and best supportive care (BSC) to 5% of patients. Median survival and progression-free survival times were 16.8 (15.3;18.5) and 11.2 (10.2;12.2) months, respectively. Stage IIIA, female gender, no weight loss, pathological mediastinal lymph node verification, surgery and combined modality therapy were associated with longer survival. Conclusions The real-world study demonstrated a broad heterogeneity in the management o f stage III NSCLC in Central European countries and suggested to increase the rates of PET-CT imaging, brain imaging and invasive mediastinal staging.

Impact of Concomitant Medication Administered at the Time of Initiation of Nivolumab Therapy on Outcome in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

AIM: To investigate potential association between administration of corticosteroids, antibiotics, probiotics, proton pump inhibitors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), statins and metformin and outcome in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with nivolumab. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 224 patients with advanced NSCLC treated at nine comprehensive cancer centers were analyzed in this national retrospective study. Survival statistics were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox analysis. RESULTS: Only corticosteroid use had a significant negative effect on the objective response rate. In the univariate analysis, there was no significant effect of the studied concomitant medications on the efficacy of nivolumab. In a subsequent multifactorial analysis, a possible positive effect of the concomitant use of NSAID at the initiation of nivolumab treatment was revealed. CONCLUSION: The results of the present retrospective exploratory analysis underscore the importance of knowing the exact type of concomitant medication, the route of administration, the dose of medication, and the region of the ongoing study. The present data indicated a significantly higher rate of progression in patients treated with corticosteroids and the possible positive effect of NSAID use at the initiation of nivolumab treatment.