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E. Cortesi



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    MA14 - Immunotherapy in Advanced NSCLC: Biomarkers and Costs (ID 394)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Mini Oral Session
    • Track: Advanced NSCLC
    • Presentations: 1
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      MA14.06 - Nivolumab in Never Smoker Patients with Advanced Squamous NSCLC: Results from the Italian Expanded Access Programme (EAP) (ID 4765)

      16:00 - 17:30  |  Author(s): E. Cortesi

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      Nivolumab is the first checkpoint inhibitor approved for the treatment of Sq-NSCLC to show a survival benefit vs the standard of care docetaxel in the randomised, phase III, CheckMate 017 study. In the nivolumab development program, a greater clinical benefit was shown in current and former smokers than in never smokers. Nevertheless, no data are available in this respect from a real world setting. For this reason, we decided to use the data collected in the EAP in order to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of nivolumab treatment in the never smoker patient population.

      Methods:
      Nivolumab was provided upon physician request for patients aged ≥18 years who had relapsed after a minimum of one prior systemic treatment for stage IIIB/stage IV Sq-NSCLC. Nivolumab 3 mg/kg was administered intravenously every 2 weeks for <24 months. Patients included in the analysis had received ≥1 dose of nivolumab and were monitored for adverse events using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events.

      Results:
      Of 372 patients with Sq-NSCLC participating in the EAP in Italy, 38 (10.2%) were never smokers, a proportion very similar to the one observed in Checkmate 017 (10%). With a median number of doses of 8 (range, 1–22) and a median follow-up of 5.6 months, the disease control rate in this group was 50%, including 9 patients with a partial response and 10 with stable disease. Eight patients were treated beyond RECIST-defined progression, with 4 of them achieving disease control. As of April 2016, median progression-free survival and overall survival were 3.5 months and not reached, respectively. 17 patients (44.7%) discontinued treatment for any reason except toxicity and 5 (13.1%) discontinued due to AE.

      Conclusion:
      These preliminary results, although obtained from a small sample size, suggest that nivolumab is effective and well tolerated in a never smoker group of patients with advanced Sq-NCLCS in the real life and warrant further investigation in this area.

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    P1.06 - Poster Session with Presenters Present (ID 458)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Poster Presenters Present
    • Track: Advanced NSCLC
    • Presentations: 1
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      P1.06-006 - Treatment beyond Progression in Patients with Advanced Squamous NSCLC Participating in the Expanded Access Programme (EAP) (ID 5450)

      14:30 - 15:45  |  Author(s): E. Cortesi

      • Abstract
      • Slides

      Background:
      Response patterns of immunotherapies differ from those seen with other therapies approved for the treatment of tumors. Due to this reason, immunotherapy protocols generally allow patients (pts) to continue treatment beyond investigator-assessed radiographic progressive disease (PD) as long as there is ongoing clinical benefit, but to date no data has been reported regarding treatment beyond PD in routine clinical practice. Here we report the analysis about the subgroup of pts treated beyond initial PD in the italian cohort of nivolumab EAP for pts with squamous non small cell lung cancer (Sq-NSCLC).

      Methods:
      Nivolumab was available upon physician request for pts aged ≥18 years who had relapsed after a minimum of one prior systemic treatment for stage IIIB/stage IV Sq-NSCLC. Nivolumab 3 mg/kg was administered intravenously every 2 weeks to a maximum of 24 months. Pts included in the analysis had received ≥ 1 dose of nivolumab and were monitored for adverse events (AE) using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. Patients were allowed to continue treatment beyond initial PD as long as they met the following criteria: investigator-assessed clinical benefit, absence of rapid PD, tolerance of program drug, stable performance status and no delay of an imminent intervention to prevent serious complications of PD.

      Results:
      With a median follow-up of 5.2 months (range 0-12.9), 363 pts were evaluable for response. Prior to first progression, the objective response rate (ORR) was 14%, with 1 complete response (CR) and 50 (14%) partial responses (PR), and the disease control rate (DCR) was 41%. Sixty-six pts were treated beyond RECIST defined progression, with 23 pts obtaining a non-conventional benefit, meaning a subsequent tumor reduction or stabilization in tumor lesions. In particular, 17 pts obtained a SD and 6 pts obtained a PR. As to July 2016, median overall survival in these pts had not been reached (95% CI: 3.2-4.6) and 6 months and 12 months OS were 75% and 53%, respectively. The safety profile was consistent to what already observed in the general population.

      Conclusion:
      As already observed in clinical trials, these preliminary EAP data seem to confirm that a proportion of pts who continued treatment beyond PD demonstrated sustained reduction or stabilization of tumor burden, with an acceptable safety profile. Further investigations are warranted in order to better define and identify pts who can benefit from treatment beyond progression.

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    P3.02c - Poster Session with Presenters Present (ID 472)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Poster Presenters Present
    • Track: Advanced NSCLC
    • Presentations: 1
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      P3.02c-095 - Italian Nivolumab Expanded Access Programme: Efficacy and Safety Data in Squamous Non Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients (ID 5159)

      14:30 - 15:45  |  Author(s): E. Cortesi

      • Abstract

      Background:
      Nivolumab monotherapy has shown survival benefit in patients (pts) with melanoma, lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma and head and neck cancer. The experience of pts and physicians in routine clinical practice is often different from those in a controlled clinical trial setting. Here, we report efficacy and safety of nivolumab monotherapy in pts with squamous non small cell lung cancer (Sq-NCSLC) treated in the nivolumab Expanded Access Programme in Italy.

      Methods:
      Nivolumab was available upon physician request for pts aged ≥18 years who had relapsed after a minimum of one prior systemic treatment for stage IIIB/stage IV Sq-NSCLC. Nivolumab 3 mg/kg wass administered intravenously every 2 weeks to a maximum of 24 months. Pts included in the analysis had received at least 1 dose of nivolumab and were monitored for adverse events (AE) using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events.

      Results:
      In total, 371 Italian pts participated in the EAP across 96 centres and 363 patients were evaluable for response. With a median follow-up of 5.2 months (range 0-12.9) and a median of 7 doses, the best overall response rate (BORR) was 18%, with 3 complete responses (CR) and 62 partial responses (PR), and the disease control rate (DCR) was 47%. DCR was comparable among pts regardless previous lines of therapy, brain metastasis, age and smoking habits. A non-conventional benefit was observed in 23 (17 SD and 6 PR) out of 66 pts treated beyond RECIST defined progression. As of April 2016, median progression-free survival and median overall survival were 3.9 (95% CI: 3.2-4.6) and 9.1 (95% CI: 6.7-11.5) months, respectively. Regarding the safety profile, 267 out of 371 pts (72%) had at least one AE of any grade, considered to be drug-related in 106 pts (29%). Grade 3/4 AE were reported in 66 pts and considered to be drug-related in 20 pts (5%). AE were generally manageable following the specific guidelines.

      Conclusion:
      To date, this is the largest clinical experience with nivolumab in a real-world setting. These preliminary EAP data seems to confirm the efficacy and safety data of nivolumab from registrational trials, supporting its use in current clinical practice for pre-treated pts with Sq-NCSLC.