Factors associated with failure to start consolidation durvalumab after definitive chemoradiation for locally advanced NSCLC

Abstract

IntroductionThe introduction of consolidation immunotherapy after chemoradiotherapy has improved outcome for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. However, not all patients receive this treatment. This study identifies factors associated with failure to start durvalumab as consolidation therapy with the aim of optimizing treatment, supportive care and prehabilitation to ensure that more patients complete the planned treatment.Materials and methodsPatients from two clinical trials and a named patient use program, were included in this study. All patients received platinum-doublet chemotherapy concomitant with radiotherapy to a total dose of 60-66 gray. Patient characteristics, cancer treatment, toxicity, performance status and laboratory data before and after chemoradiotherapy were recorded and patients who never started durvalumab were compared with those who did.ResultsA total of 101 patients were included, of which 83 started treatments with durvalumab after chemoradiotherapy. The 18 patients who did not start durvalumab had significantly higher lactate dehydrogenase at baseline and a worse performance status, cumulative toxicity and higher c-reactive protein after completed chemoradiotherapy. Data also suggest that pre-treatment diabetes and reduced hemoglobin and/or diffusion capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide contribute to the risk of treatment abruption.ConclusionTreatment plan disruption rate was 18%. Systemic inflammation and performance status were associated with failure to receive durvalumab after chemoradiation. Further studies are needed to confirm findings and prospective trials should investigate whether prehabilitation and supportive treatment could help more patients finishing the planned treatment.Clinical Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT03798535; NCT04392505.

Identification of C-PLAN index as a novel prognostic predictor for advanced lung cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors

“…Our team has previously proved prognostic nutritional index (PNI) as a reliable prognostic indicator for both ICI-treated NSCLC and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients ( 14 ). However, these prognostic indexes are mainly based on laboratory tests, ignoring individual status such as performance status (PS) and smoking status, which may be also crucial for ICI efficacy ( 15 , 16 ). Therefore, one or two parameters are far from sufficient to precisely stratify the outcome of ICI-treated NSCLC patients and novel predictive methods are urgently needed.…”