Virtual Library

Start Your Search

R. Califano



Author of

  • +

    MA 10 - Immunotherapy I (ID 664)

    • Event: WCLC 2017
    • Type: Mini Oral
    • Track: Immunology and Immunotherapy
    • Presentations: 1
    • +

      MA 10.07 - Elderly Lung Cancer Patients on Immunotherapy: Preliminary Results from the ELDERS Study (ID 9840)

      11:00 - 12:30  |  Author(s): R. Califano

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      Immunotherapy is revolutionising the way many cancer types are treated. The immunosenescence and the high heterogeneity of the elderly raises questions on the benefits with such treatments and real-world data is lacking.

      Method:
      ELDERS is a prospective, observational pilot study on the use of checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or malignant melanoma. The study was designed with 2 arms, the elderly (≥ 70 years) and the non-elderly (45-69 years) with 2 co-primary endpoints, immune-related toxicity (irAE) profile and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) through the EORTC QLQ-C30. A comorbidity score (CIRS) was applied at baseline (score 0-56) and serial geriatric assessments were performed for stratification with a screening tool (G8) and further geriatric assessment as needed. A total of 110 patients of a planned 120 have been recruited. This interim analysis is of the NSCLC cohort with a minimum of 3 months on study/follow-up.

      Result:
      32 patients were included, with 96% treated with pembrolizumab (9% first-line) and 40.6% enrolled on the elderly arm. In both arms, 45% had a tumour PD-L1 expression of ≥50%. The elderly arm had more advanced disease with 69% staged M1b vs. 42.1% in younger arm (p=0.05). 69% of patients, in both arms, were performance status 0/1 at the start of treatment. The median CIRS total score was 12 for the elderly and 7 for the younger arm. 46% of elderly patients had an abnormal geriatric screening (G8≤14), requiring further assessments. With a median follow-up of 6 months, the objective response rate (ORR) was overall 19% with a median time to response of 8 weeks. The ORR was numerically higher in the elderly with 30.8% vs. 10.5% (p=0.09). 9.4% of patients on study had a grade 3/4 irAE, with no difference between study arms. Elderly patients had a numerically higher rate of admissions, 53.8% vs. 36.8% (p=0.18). No statistically significant correlation was identified between higher comorbidity score or abnormal geriatric assessment and the incidence of irAEs. No significant negative impact on the global HRQoL was detected in either arm during treatment with immunotherapy.

      Conclusion:
      Despite the small number of patients and the limited follow-up time, there is no signal in this interim analysis to indicate that elderly patients have less benefit or higher risk of irAE compared with younger patients, despite more comorbidities and geriatric syndromes. These results help to inform clinical practice in the absence of trials dedicated to the elderly population.

      Only Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login, select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout. If you would like to become a member of IASLC, please click here.

      Only Active Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login or select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout.