2025 Targeted Therapies of Lung Cancer (TTLC) - Posters-PP01.11 Clinicopathologic features of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and exceptional response to immunotherapy

PP01.11 Clinicopathologic features of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and exceptional response to immunotherapy

Back to course

Pdf Summary

This study examines clinicopathologic features of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have shown exceptional responses to immunotherapy. Conducted by Yale University, it focuses on identifying characteristics that could predict long-term response benefits from such therapies. <br /><br />The study involved 50 patients, who were treated with different immunotherapies: 29 with pembrolizumab, 3 with atezolizumab, 8 with nivolumab, 7 with ipilimumab/nivolumab, and combinations involving nivolumab/erlotinib and pembrolizumab/anti-angiogenesis agents. Among 46 evaluable patients, about 21.7% experienced cancer recurrence after a median period of 4.6 years post-therapy cessation. Recurrence commonly occurred 3 months post-treatment, and in some cases, up to five years later, affecting sites such as the brain, lung, lymph nodes, and other regions. <br /><br />Notably, the study reports that exceptional responders (ER) can sustain long-term survival up to 10 years without NSCLC recurrence. Remarkably, durable responses were observed even in patients who couldn't tolerate 6 months of therapy or had specific challenging conditions like untreated brain metastases or EGFR mutations. <br /><br />The study concluded that the characterization of exceptional responders might help predict which patients will benefit most from immunotherapy. Progression-free survival analysis showed that fewer than 50% of the ER had died by the data cutoff, indicating a strong potential for long-term survival with immunotherapy, even though late recurrences were also documented.<br /><br />Further research is encouraged, focusing on the molecular attributes and tumor microenvironment differences between responders and non-responders to enhance the understanding and effectiveness of immunotherapy for NSCLC. The study acknowledges the support from patients, their families, and the research and thoracic teams involved in the project.

Asset Subtitle

Yunan Nie

Keywords

advanced non-small cell lung cancer

NSCLC

immunotherapy

exceptional responders

pembrolizumab

nivolumab

atezolizumab

long-term survival

tumor microenvironment

Yale University