Efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade with sintilimab in resectable squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC).

Abstract

8531 Background: NSCLC patients who have potentially resectable disease often subsequently relapse after surgery. New therapy that prevents relapse after surgery is desperately needed. In this study, we tested the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant sintilimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, for patients with resectable sqNSCLC in China. Methods: All patients had treatment-naïve resectable sqNSCLC (stage IB-IIIA) that was confirmed by histopathology. Patients received two cycles of sintilimab (200 mg IV) on Day 1 and 22. Surgery was performed between Day 29-43. An enhanced PET/CT was obtained at baseline and seven days prior to surgery. Preliminary analysis of safety profile and efficacy was planned after at least 20 patients had received operation. Results: As of Jan. 28, 2019, 22 patients (20 males and 2 females) with sqNSCLC received two doses of sintilimab followed by radical resection. The median age was 61.5 yr (range, 48 to 70). Six (27.3%) and four (18.2%) patients experienced neoadjuvant treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and neoadjuvant treatment-related AEs (TRAEs), respectively. Most of the TEAEs and TRAEs were grade 1 or 2. Three patients achieved radiological partial response: an ORR of 13.6% based on RECIST 1.1. Ten patients (45.5%) achieved a major pathologic response (MPR, ≤10% viable tumor cells), including four (18.2%) had complete pathologic response (no viable tumor cell). There was a direct correlation between pathological response and decrease in the standardized uptake values (SUV) in the primary tumor. Among nine patients with > 30% decrease of SUV, eight had MPR, compared with no MRP response in the 11 patients with ≤30% decrease of SUV. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant sintilimab for sqNSCLC patients was tolerable and the 45.5% MRP rate is encouraging. A decrease in SUV may be predictive of pathologic response after PD-1 therapy in sqNSCLC. Clinical trial information: ChiCTR-OIC-17013726.

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