Prognostic Implication of PD-L1 Expression on Osimertinib Treatment for EGFR-mutated Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Real-world data on the clinical outcomes of first-line osimertinib treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations is lacking. This study aimed to reveal the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors of osimertinib as first-line therapy in clinical practice settings.

We retrospectively evaluated clinical outcomes of patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC treated with osimertinib as first-line therapy across 12 institutions in Japan between August 2018 and March 2020.

Among 158 enrolled patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 68%, and the estimated median progression-free survival (PFS) was 17.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI)=14.5-19.7]. Subgroup analysis showed that PFS in the group with high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression was significantly shorter than that in groups with low or no PD-L1 expression (10.1 vs. 16.1 vs. 19.0 months; p=0.03). Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that high PD-L1 expression was the only independent adverse prognostic factor of osimertinib outcome related to PFS (hazard ratio=2.71; 95%CI=1.26-5.84; p=0.01). In terms of anti-tumor response, there was no statistically significant correlation between PD-L1 expression and the ORR (67% vs. 76% vs. 65%; p=0.51). No significant correlation was also found between PD-L1 and the incidence of de novo resistance to osimertinib (p=0.39).

Although PD-L1 expression was not associated with either the ORR or frequency of de novo resistance, high PD-L1 expression could be an independent adverse prognostic factor related to PFS in osimertinib treatment.