JTO Clinical and Research Reports (Sep 2024)

Three-Year Overall Survival Outcomes and Correlative Analyses in Patients With NSCLC and High (50%–89%) Versus Very High (≥90%) Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Expression Treated With First-Line Pembrolizumab or Cemiplimab

  • Biagio Ricciuti, MD, PhD,
  • Arielle Elkrief, MD,
  • Jessica Lin, MD,
  • Jianjun Zhang, MD,
  • Joao V. Alessi, MD,
  • Giuseppe Lamberti, MD, PhD,
  • Malini Gandhi, MD,
  • Alessandro Di Federico, MD,
  • Federica Pecci, MD,
  • Xinan Wang, PhD,
  • Maisam Makarem, MD, PhD,
  • Cassio Murilo Hidalgo Filho, MD,
  • Teresa Gorria, MD,
  • Arushi Saini, BS,
  • Cindy Pabon, MD,
  • James Lindsay, PhD,
  • Kathleen L. Pfaff, PhD,
  • Emma L. Welsh, BS,
  • Mizuki Nishino, MD,
  • Lynette M. Sholl, MD,
  • Scott Rodig, MD,
  • Saadettin Kilickap, MD,
  • Petra Rietschel, MD,
  • Debra AG. McIntyre, PhD,
  • Jean-Francois Pouliot, MD,
  • Mehmet Altan, MD,
  • Justin F. Gainor, MD,
  • John V. Heymach, MD,
  • Adam J. Schoenfeld, MD,
  • Mark M. Awad, MD, PhD

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 9
p. 100675

Abstract

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Introduction: Responses to first-line programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition vary among patients with metastatic NSCLC and a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor proportion score (TPS) greater than or equal to 50%. We previously reported improved clinical outcomes to first-line programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition in patients with metastatic NSCLC with a PD-L1 TPS of greater than or equal to 90% versus 50% to 89% in a pilot study. Here, we report the three-year survival with first-line pembrolizumab and cemiplimab in two large independent cohorts of patients with PD-L1 TPS greater than or equal to 90% versus 50% to 89% and characterize genomic and immunophenotypic differences between these PD-L1 expression groups, which were largely unknown. Methods: We analyzed three-year outcomes of the following two independent cohorts: (1) a multicenter cohort of patients from four academic centers in the United States treated with pembrolizumab and (2) EMPOWER-Lung 1, randomized, phase III trial comparing first-line cemiplimab with chemotherapy. Tumor genomic profiling and multiplexed immunofluorescence were performed to evaluate genomic and immunophenotypic correlates of very high PD-L1 expression. Results: At three years of follow-up, progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 0.69; p < 0.001) and overall survival (HR, 0.70; p < 0.01) to first-line commercial pembrolizumab were significantly improved in patients with a PD-L1 TPS greater than or equal to 90% versus 50% to 89%. In the EMPOWER-Lung 1, patients assigned to the cemiplimab arm with a PD-L1 TPS greater than or equal to 90% also had significant improvements in progression-free survival (HR, 0.53; p < 0.0001) and overall survival (HR, 0.63; p = 0.007) compared with those with a PD-L1 of 50% to 89%. Tumor genomic profiling of 553 NSCLC samples revealed that mutations in STK11 and SMARCA4 were significantly more frequent in tumors with a PD-L1 TPS of 50% to 89% compared with those with a PD-L1 TPS greater than or equal to 90% (Q < 0.15), whereas BRCA2 was enriched in NSCLC samples with a PD-L1 TPS greater than or equal to 90% (Q < 0.15). Multiplexed immunofluorescence on 93 NSCLC samples identified higher intratumoral CD8+PD1+ T cells (p = 0.02) in tumors with PD-L1 TPS greater than or equal to 90% versus 50% to 89%. Conclusion: Pembrolizumab and cemiplimab were found to have long-term survival benefit and favorable genomic and immunophenotypic profile in patients with advanced NSCLC with PD-L1 TPS greater than or equal to 90% compared with TPS 50% to 89%.

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