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IMPORTANCE Gut dysbiosis impairs response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and can be caused by broad-spectrum antibiotic (ATB) therapy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether there is an association between ATB therapy administered concurrently (cATB) or prior (pATB) to ICI therapy and overall survival (OS) and treatment response to ICI therapy in patients with cancer treated with ICIs in routine clinical practice. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This prospective, multicenter, cohort study conducted at 2 tertiary academic referral centers recruited 196 patients with cancer who received ICI therapy between January 1, 2015, and April 1, 2018, in routine clinical practice rather than clinical trials.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Overall survival calculated from the time of ICI therapy commencement and radiologic response to ICI treatment defined using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (version 1.1), with disease refractory to ICI therapy defined as progressive disease 6 to 8 weeks after the first ICI dose without evidence of pseudoprogression. RESULTS Among 196 patients (137 men and 59 women; median [range] age, 68 [27-93] years) with non-small cell lung cancer (n = 119), melanoma (n = 38), and other tumor types (n = 39), pATB therapy (HR, 7.4; 95% CI, 4.3-12.8; P < .001), but not cATB therapy (HR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.5-1.4; P = .76), was associated with worse OS (2 vs 26 months for pATB therapy vs no pATB therapy, respectively) (hazard ratio [HR], 7.4; 95% CI, 4.2-12.9) and a higher likelihood of primary disease refractory to ICI therapy (21 of 26 [81%] vs 66 of 151 [44%], P < .001). Overall survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (2.5 vs 26 months, P < .001), melanoma (3.9 vs 14 months, P < .001), and other tumor types (1.1 vs 11, P < .001) was consistently worse in those who received pATBs vs those who did not. Multivariate analyses confirmed that pATB therapy (HR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.9-6.1; P < .001) and response to ICI therapy (HR, 8.2; 95% CI, 4.0-16.9; P < .001) were associated with OS independent of tumor site, disease burden, and performance status.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Despite being limited by sample size, geographic origin, and the lack of correlative analyses on patients' gut microbiota, this study suggests that pATB therapy but not cATB therapy is associated with a worse treatment response and OS in unselected patients treated with ICIs in routine clinical practice. Mechanistic studies are urgently required to investigate ATB-mediated alterations of gut microbiota as a determinant of poorer outcome following ICI treatment.

Pemetrexed-cisplatin combined with TRT followed by consolidation pemetrexed was not superior to standard chemoradiotherapy for stage III unresectable nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

SummaryBackgroundMany patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receive only active supportive care because of poor performance status or presence of several comorbidities. We investigated whether erlotinib improves clinical outcome in these patients.MethodsTOPICAL was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, done at 78 centres in the UK. Eligibility criteria were newly diagnosed, pathologically confirmed NSCLC; stage IIIb or IV; chemotherapy naive; no symptomatic brain metastases; deemed unsuitable for chemotherapy because of poor (≥2) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status or presence of several comorbidities, or both; and estimated life expectancy of at least 8 weeks. Patients were randomly assigned (by phone call, in a 1:1 ratio, stratified by disease stage, performance status, smoking history, and centre, block size 10) to receive oral placebo or erlotinib (150 mg per day) until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Investigators, clinicians, and patients were masked to assignment. The primary endpoint was overall survival. Analyses were by intention to treat, and prespecified subgroup analyses included development of a rash due to erlotinib within 28 days of starting treatment. This study is registered, number ISRCTN 77383050.FindingsBetween April 14, 2005, and April 1, 2009, we randomly assigned 350 patients to receive erlotinib and 320 to receive placebo. We followed up patients until March 31, 2011. 657 patients died; median overall survival did not differ between groups (erlotinib, 3·7 months, 95% CI 3·2–4·2, vs placebo, 3·6 months, 3·2–3·9; unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0·94, 95% CI 0·81–1·10, p=0·46). 59% (178 of 302) of patients assigned erlotinib and who were assessable at 1 month developed first-cycle rash, which was the only independent factor associated with overall survival. Patients with first-cycle rash had better overall survival (HR 0·76, 95% CI 0·63–0·92, p=0·0058), compared with placebo. Compared with placebo, overall survival seemed to be worse in the group that did not develop first-cycle rash (1·30, 1·05–1·61, p=0·017). Grade 3 or 4 diarrhoea was more common with erlotinib than placebo (8% [28 of 334] vs 1% [four of 313], p=0·0001), as was high-grade rash (23% [79 of 334] vs 2% [five of 313], p<0·0001); other adverse events were much the same between groups.InterpretationPatients with NSCLC who are deemed unsuitable for chemotherapy could be given erlotinib. Patients who develop a first-cycle rash should continue to receive erlotinib, whereas those who do not have a rash after 28 days should discontinue erlotinib, because of the possibility of decreased survival.FundingCancer Research UK, Roche.