Chemotherapy Plus Anti-PD-1 or Anti-PD-L1 in Advanced PD-L1-Negative Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Squamous cell lung carcinoma (sqNSCLC) accounts for 25% to 30% of all non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases and is associated with a worse prognosis. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors improve outcomes in advanced sqNSCLC, the true benefit of chemotherapy plus anti-PD-(L)1 in patients with advanced PD-L1-negative sqNSCLC is unclear.

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials comparing chemotherapy plus anti-PD-(L)1 to chemotherapy with or without placebo in locally advanced (ineligible for concurrent chemoradiation or surgery) or metastatic PD-L1-negative sqNSCLC.

A total of 1548 patients with advanced PD-L1-negative sqNSCLC from 11 studies were included. Of these, 810 patients (52%) received chemotherapy plus anti-PD-(L)1 (intervention group), while 738 patients (48%) received chemotherapy with or without placebo (control group). All included studies were phase 3 trials and used platinum-doublet chemotherapy regimens. Chemotherapy plus anti-PD-(L)1 was associated with increased probability of overall response rate (risk ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.16-1.60; P = .0001), increased progression-free survival (HR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.48-0.69; P < .00001), and increased overall survival (HR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69-0.96; P = .02) compared to chemotherapy, with or without placebo.

Our findings support the use of combination anti-PD-(L)1 plus chemotherapy as first-line therapy for patients with advanced PD-L1-negative sqNSCLC. Prospective studies are warranted to determine whether dual checkpoint inhibition, with or without chemotherapy, is superior to anti-PD-(L)1 plus chemotherapy in this patient population.