Antibody-drug conjugates, immune-checkpoint inhibitors, and their combination in advanced non-small cell lung cancer
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Idoko Salifu1, Navneet Singh2, Maria Berraondo1
1Labcorp Drug Development Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA.
Introduction:
Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) is an incurable disease. The effort to develop treatments with more effective systemic agents continues. This has led to the FDA approval of one antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and eight immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for patients with aNSCLC.
Areas Covered:
Due to the demonstrated efficacy of ADCs and ICIs in aNSCLC, treatment combining both agents merits attention. This article, therefore, explores the use of ADCs and ICIs in patients with NSCLC, assesses the scientific rationale for combination treatment, and provides an overview of ongoing trials. It also presents some early efficacy and safety results of such combination use.
Expert Opinion:
It is not clear whether ADC-immunotherapy has a significant impact on those with a targetable oncogenic driver alteration since targeted therapies are effective. However, in aNSCLC without a targetable oncogenic driver alteration, the combination of ADCs and ICIs has potential and remains an area of active clinical research.
Insights
Combining antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) shows promise for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) without driver alterations. Research is ongoing to evaluate efficacy and safety in this patient population.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Medical Research
Background:
- Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) remains incurable, driving the need for novel systemic therapies.
- Current treatments for aNSCLC include one approved antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and eight immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the use of ADCs and ICIs in NSCLC patients.
- To assess the scientific rationale for combining ADCs and ICIs.
- To review ongoing clinical trials and early efficacy/safety data of combination therapy.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of ADCs and ICIs in NSCLC.
- Analysis of scientific rationale for combination treatment.
- Overview of ongoing clinical trials and preliminary results.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated efficacy of ADCs and ICIs as monotherapies supports combination strategies.
- Combination therapy shows potential in aNSCLC lacking targetable oncogenic driver alterations.
- Early efficacy and safety data from ongoing trials are being presented.
Conclusions:
- The combination of ADCs and ICIs is an active area of clinical research for aNSCLC, particularly in patients without targetable driver alterations.
- Further investigation is warranted to establish the role of ADC-immunotherapy in specific NSCLC patient subgroups.
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