Real-World Outcomes of First-Line Pembrolizumab-Based Therapy in Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Retrospective...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunotherapy
• Real-world evidence

Background:

• Pembrolizumab is a standard first-line treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
• Pivotal trial populations may not represent patients in routine practice, especially those with poor performance status (ECOG PS ≥2) and high metastatic burden.
• Real-world data for these specific patient groups are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess real-world outcomes of first-line pembrolizumab-based therapy in a heterogeneous NSCLC cohort.
• To evaluate efficacy in patients with ECOG PS ≥2 and high metastatic burden.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort analysis of 45 advanced NSCLC patients.
• Patients received first-line pembrolizumab (monotherapy or with chemotherapy) between September 2017 and April 2020.
• Data included patient demographics, performance status, metastatic sites, PD-L1 expression, and survival outcomes.

Main Results:

• The cohort had a mean age of 69.3 years, 37.8% had ECOG PS ≥2, and 53.3% had ≥3 metastatic sites.
• Median overall survival (OS) was 8.87 months and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.20 months.
• Objective response rate was 46.7%; disease control rate was 68.9%. Number of metastatic sites and PD-L1 expression were associated with survival outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Pembrolizumab-based therapy demonstrated clinical benefit in this real-world NSCLC cohort with poor prognostic factors.
• Survival outcomes were shorter compared to pivotal clinical trials.
• Real-world data are crucial for understanding treatment effectiveness in diverse patient populations.