Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus carboplatin-based doublet as first-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer aged ≥70 years or with an ECOG performance status of 2 (GFPC 08-2015 ENERGY): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study.
Combined treatment with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies has shown superiority over chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but data for older patients (aged ≥70 years) with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-1 or those with an ECOG performance status of 2 are scarce. We aimed to test the superiority of the PD-1 antibody nivolumab and the CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab over platinum-based doublet chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with NSCLC aged 70 years or older or with an ECOG performance status of 2.
This open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial was done at 30 hospitals and cancer centres in France. Eligible patients had stage IV histologically proven NSCLC, with no known oncogenic alterations, and were either aged 70 years or older with ECOG performance status of 0-2 or younger than 70 years with an ECOG performance status of 2. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) centrally, using a computer-generated algorithm stratified by age (<70 vs ≥70 years), ECOG performance status (0-1 vs 2), and histology (squamous vs non-squamous) to receive nivolumab plus ipilimumab or platinum-based doublet chemotherapy (carboplatin [area under the curve ≤700 mg] plus pemetrexed [500 mg/m2 intravenous infusion every 3 weeks] or carboplatin [on day 1; area under the curve ≤700 mg] plus paclitaxel [90 mg/m2 as intravenous infusion on days 1, 5, and 15, every 4 weeks]). The primary endpoint was overall survival; secondary endpoints included progression-free survival and safety. All efficacy analyses were performed in the intention-to-treat population, which included all randomly assigned patients. Safety was analysed in the safety analysis set, which included all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of study treatment and who had at least one safety follow-up. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03351361.
The trial was stopped early for futility on the basis of a pre-planned interim analysis after 33% of the expected events had occurred. Between Feb 12, 2018, and Dec 15, 2020, 217 patients were randomly assigned, of whom 216 patients were included in the final analysis, with 109 patients in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab group and 107 in the chemotherapy group; median age was 74 years (IQR 70-78). Median overall survival was 14·7 months (95% CI 8·0-19·7) in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab group and 9·9 months (7·7-12·3) in chemotherapy group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·85 [95% CI 0·62-1·16]). Among patients aged 70 years or older with an ECOG performance status of 0-1 (median age 76 years [IQR 73-79]), median overall survival was longer in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab group than the chemotherapy group: 22·6 months (95% CI 18·1-36·0) versus 11·8 months (8·9-20·5; HR 0·64 [95% CI 0·46-0·96]). Among patients with an ECOG performance status of 2 (median age 69 years [IQR 63-75]), median overall survival was 2·9 months (95% CI 1·4-4·8) in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab group versus 6·1 months (3·5-10·4) in the chemotherapy group (HR 1·32 [95% CI 0·82-2·11]). No new safety signals were reported. The most frequent grade 3 or worse adverse events were neutropenia (28 [27%] of 103 patients) in the chemotherapy group and endocrine disorders (five [5%] of 105 patients), cardiac disorders (ten [10%] patients), and gastrointestinal disorders (11 [11%] patients) in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab group.
The study showed no benefit of nivolumab plus ipilimumab combination in the overall study population. As a result of early stopping, the trial was underpowered for primary and secondary endpoints; however, the finding of better survival with nivolumab plus ipilimumab compared with platinum doublet in the subgroup of older patients with NSCLC with an ECOG performance status of 0-1 warrants further study.
Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Léna H
,Greillier L
,Cropet C
,Bylicki O
,Monnet I
,Audigier-Valette C
,Falchero L
,Vergnenègre A
,Demontrond P
,Geier M
,Guisier F
,Hominal S
,Locher C
,Corre R
,Chouaid C
,Ricordel C
,GFPC 08–2015 ENERGY investigators
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First-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab combined with two cycles of chemotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (CheckMate 9LA): an international, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.
First-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab has shown improved overall survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to investigate whether the addition of a limited course (two cycles) of chemotherapy to this combination would further enhance the clinical benefit.
This randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial was done at 103 hospitals in 19 countries. Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older with treatment-naive, histologically confirmed stage IV or recurrent NSCLC, and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by an interactive web response system via permuted blocks (block size of four) to nivolumab (360 mg intravenously every 3 weeks) plus ipilimumab (1 mg/kg intravenously every 6 weeks) combined with histology-based, platinum doublet chemotherapy (intravenously every 3 weeks for two cycles; experimental group), or chemotherapy alone (every 3 weeks for four cycles; control group). Randomisation was stratified by tumour histology, sex, and PD-L1 expression. The primary endpoint was overall survival in all randomly assigned patients. Safety was analysed in all treated patients. Results reported here are from a pre-planned interim analysis (when the study met its primary endpoint) and an exploratory longer-term follow-up analysis. This study is active but no longer recruiting patients, and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03215706.
Between Aug 24, 2017, and Jan 30, 2019, 1150 patients were enrolled and 719 (62·5%) randomly assigned to nivolumab plus ipilimumab with two cycles of chemotherapy (n=361 [50%]) or four cycles of chemotherapy alone (n=358 [50%]). At the pre-planned interim analysis (median follow-up 9·7 months [IQR 6·4-12·8]), overall survival in all randomly assigned patients was significantly longer in the experimental group than in the control group (median 14·1 months [95% CI 13·2-16·2] vs 10·7 months [9·5-12·4]; hazard ratio [HR] 0·69 [96·71% CI 0·55-0·87]; p=0·00065). With 3·5 months longer median follow-up (median 13·2 months [IQR 6·4-17·0]), median overall survival was 15·6 months (95% CI 13·9-20·0) in the experimental group versus 10·9 months (9·5-12·6) in the control group (HR 0·66 [95% CI 0·55-0·80]). The most common grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events were neutropenia (in 24 [7%] patients in the experimental group vs 32 [9%] in the control group), anaemia (21 [6%] vs 50 [14%]), diarrhoea (14 [4%] vs two [1%]), increased lipase (22 [6%] vs three [1%]), and asthenia (tjree [1%] vs eight [2%]). Serious treatment-related adverse events of any grade occurred in 106 (30%) patients in the experimental group and 62 (18%) in the control group. Seven (2%) deaths in the experimental group (acute kidney failure, diarrhoea, hepatotoxicity, hepatitis, pneumonitis, sepsis with acute renal insufficiency, and thrombocytopenia; one patient each) and six (2%) deaths in the control group (anaemia, febrile neutropenia, pancytopenia, pulmonary sepsis, respiratory failure, and sepsis; one patient each) were treatment related.
Nivolumab plus ipilimumab with two cycles of chemotherapy provided a significant improvement in overall survival versus chemotherapy alone and had a favourable risk-benefit profile. These data support this regimen as a new first-line treatment option for patients with advanced NSCLC.
Bristol Myers Squibb.
Paz-Ares L
,Ciuleanu TE
,Cobo M
,Schenker M
,Zurawski B
,Menezes J
,Richardet E
,Bennouna J
,Felip E
,Juan-Vidal O
,Alexandru A
,Sakai H
,Lingua A
,Salman P
,Souquet PJ
,De Marchi P
,Martin C
,Pérol M
,Scherpereel A
,Lu S
,John T
,Carbone DP
,Meadows-Shropshire S
,Agrawal S
,Oukessou A
,Yan J
,Reck M
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Nivolumab plus ipilimumab as first-line treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (CheckMate 012): results of an open-label, phase 1, multicohort study.
Nivolumab has shown improved survival in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with chemotherapy. We assessed the safety and activity of combination nivolumab plus ipilimumab as first-line therapy for NSCLC.
The open-label, phase 1, multicohort study (CheckMate 012) cohorts reported here were enrolled at eight US academic centres. Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older with histologically or cytologically confirmed recurrent stage IIIb or stage IV, chemotherapy-naive NSCLC. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) by an interactive voice response system to receive nivolumab 1 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 12 weeks, or nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks until disease progression, unacceptable toxicities, or withdrawal of consent. Data from the latter two cohorts, which were considered potentially suitable for further clinical development, are presented in this report; data from the other cohort (as well as several earlier cohorts) are described in the appendix. The primary outcome was safety and tolerability, assessed in all treated patients. This ongoing study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01454102.
Between May 15, 2014, and March 25, 2015, 78 patients were randomly assigned to receive nivolumab every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab every 12 weeks (n=38) or nivolumab every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab every 6 weeks (n=40). One patient in the ipilimumab every-6-weeks cohort was excluded before treatment; therefore 77 patients actually received treatment (38 in the ipilimumab every-12-weeks cohort; 39 in the ipilimumab every-6-weeks cohort). At data cut-off on Jan 7, 2016, 29 (76%) patients in the ipilimumab every-12-weeks cohort and 32 (82%) in the ipilimumab every-6-weeks cohort had discontinued treatment. Grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 14 (37%) patients in the ipilimumab every-12-weeks cohort and 13 (33%) patients in the every-6-weeks cohort; the most commonly reported grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events were increased lipase (three [8%] and no patients), pneumonitis (two [5%] and one [3%] patients), adrenal insufficiency (one [3%] and two [5%] patients), and colitis (one [3%] and two [5%] patients). Treatment-related serious adverse events were reported in 12 (32%) patients in the ipilimumab every-12-weeks cohort and 11 (28%) patients in the every-6-weeks cohort. Treatment-related adverse events (any grade) prompted treatment discontinuation in four (11%) patients in the every-12-weeks cohort and five (13%) patients in the every-6-weeks cohort. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Confirmed objective responses were achieved in 18 (47% [95% CI 31-64]) patients in the ipilimumab every-12-weeks cohort and 15 (38% [95% CI 23-55]) patients in the ipilimumab every-6-weeks cohort; median duration of response was not reached in either cohort, with median follow-up times of 12·8 months (IQR 9·3-15·5) in the ipilimumab every-12-weeks cohort and 11·8 months (6·7-15·9) in the ipilimumab every-6-weeks cohort. In patients with PD-L1 of 1% or greater, confirmed objective responses were achieved in 12 (57%) of 21 patients in the ipilimumab every-12-weeks cohort and 13 (57%) of 23 patients in the ipilimumab every-6-weeks cohort.
In NSCLC, first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab had a tolerable safety profile and showed encouraging clinical activity characterised by a high response rate and durable response. To our knowledge, the results of this study are the first suggestion of improved benefit compared with anti-PD-1 monotherapy in patients with NSCLC, supporting further assessment of this combination in a phase 3 study.
Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Hellmann MD
,Rizvi NA
,Goldman JW
,Gettinger SN
,Borghaei H
,Brahmer JR
,Ready NE
,Gerber DE
,Chow LQ
,Juergens RA
,Shepherd FA
,Laurie SA
,Geese WJ
,Agrawal S
,Young TC
,Li X
,Antonia SJ
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