Potential Immune Microenvironment Biomarkers in SCLC: J-TAIL-2 Observational Study

Effective predictors of response to atezolizumab plus carboplatin/etoposide (CE) therapy in extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC) remain limited. This exploratory analysis from J-TAIL-2 aimed to identify markers of survival benefit with atezolizumab plus CE therapy in ES-SCLC.

J-TAIL-2 (ClinicalTrials.gov ID, NCT04501497) was a multicenter observational study that enrolled patients receiving atezolizumab plus CE (ES-SCLC cohort) in clinical practice in Japan per local label and treatment guidelines. In this exploratory analysis, the association of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) density and SCLC subtypes (SCLC-A [ASCL1 dominant], SCLC-N [NEUROD1 dominant], SCLC-P [ASCL1/NEUROD1 double-negative with POU2F3 expression], and SCLC-O [ASCL1/NEUROD1 double-negative not otherwise specified]) with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was evaluated. SCLC subtyping was performed by immunohistochemistry.

SCLC samples (n = 100; data cutoff, February 3, 2023) were categorized as SCLC-A (73%), SCLC-N (16%), SCLC-P (8%), and SCLC-O (3%). Among 96 patients who received first-line atezolizumab plus CE, median age was 72 (range, 39-87) years and 81% were male. Furthermore, 56 patients were classified into the CD8+ TIL-high subgroup and 40 into the TIL-low subgroup. Median (m)PFS with atezolizumab plus CE was 6.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.5-7.5) in the TIL-high versus 4.4 months (95% CI: 4.0-5.1) in the TIL-low subgroup (p = 0.01); mOS was 18.4 (95% CI: 11.8-not estimable) versus 10.8 months (95% CI: 7.7-16.2; p = 0.04). mOS and mPFS were not significantly different between SCLC subtypes but were numerically shorter in the SCLC-N group.

CD8+ TIL density is a potential biomarker of clinical benefit in ES-SCLC and may facilitate patient selection for atezolizumab combination therapy.