Survival impact of immune-related adverse events in extensive stage small cell lung cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Hunting JC ，Price SN ，Faucheux AT ，Olson E ，Elko CA ，Quattlebaum A ，Ruiz J ，Lycan TW Jr ... -  《-》

Construction of a prognostic model for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer patients undergoing immune therapy in northernmost China and prediction of treatment efficacy based on response status at different time points.

Recently, the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors has significantly improved the survival of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. However, not all patients can benefit from immunotherapy; therefore, there is an urgent need for precise predictive markers to screen the population for the benefit of immunotherapy. However, single markers have limited predictive accuracy, so a comprehensive predictive model is needed to better enable precision immunotherapy. The aim of this study was to establish a prognostic model for immunotherapy in ES-SCLC patients using basic clinical characteristics and peripheral hematological indices of the patients, which would provide a strategy for the clinical realization of precision immunotherapy and improve the prognosis of small cell lung cancer patients. This research retrospectively collected data from ES-SCLC patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors between March 1, 2019, and October 31, 2022, at Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital. The study data was randomly split into training and validation sets in a 7:3 ratio. Variables associated with patients' overall survival were screened and modeled by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Models were presented visually via Nomogram plots. Model discrimination was evaluated by Harrell's C index, tROC, and tAUC. The calibration of the model was assessed by calibration curves. In addition, the clinical utility of the model was assessed using a DCA curve. After calculating the total risk score of patients in the training set, patients were stratified by risk using percentile partitioning. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot OS and PFS survival curves for different risk groups and response statuses at different milestone time points. Differences in survival time groups were compared using the chi-square test. Statistical analysis software included R 4.1.2 and SPSS 26. This study included a total of 113 ES-SCLC patients who received immunotherapy, including 79 in the training set and 34 in the validation set. Six variables associated with poorer OS in patients were screened by Cox regression analysis: liver metastasis (P = 0.001), bone metastasis (P = 0.013), NLR < 2.14 (P = 0.005), LIPI assessed as poor (P < 0.001), PNI < 51.03 (P = 0.002), and LDH ≥ 146.5 (P = 0.037). A prognostic model for immunotherapy in ES-SCLC patients was constructed based on the above variables. The Harrell's C-index in the training and validation sets of the model was 0.85 (95% CI 0.76-0.93) and 0.88 (95% CI 0.76-0.99), respectively; the AUC values corresponding to 12, 18, and 24 months in the tROC curves of the training set were 0.745, 0.848, and 0.819 in the training set and 0.858, 0.904 and 0.828 in the validation set; the tAUC curves show that the overall tAUC is > 0.7 and does not fluctuate much over time in both the training and validation sets. The calibration plot demonstrated the good calibration of the model, and the DCA curve indicated that the model had practical clinical applications. Patients in the training set were categorized into low, intermediate, and high risk groups based on their predicted risk scores in the Nomogram graphs. In the training set, 52 patients (66%) died with a median OS of 15.0 months and a median PFS of 7.8 months. Compared with the high-risk group (median OS: 12.3 months), the median OS was significantly longer in the intermediate-risk group (median OS: 24.5 months, HR = 0.47, P = 0.038) and the low-risk group (median OS not reached, HR = 0.14, P = 0.007). And, the median PFS was also significantly prolonged in the intermediate-risk group (median PFS: 12.7 months, HR = 0.45, P = 0.026) and low-risk group (median PFS not reached, HR = 0.12, P = 0.004) compared with the high-risk group (median PFS: 6.2 months). Similar results were obtained in the validation set. In addition, we observed that in real-world ES-SCLC patients, at 6 weeks after immunotherapy, the median OS was significantly longer in responders than in non-responders (median OS: 19.5 months vs. 11.9 months, P = 0.033). Similar results were obtained at 12 weeks (median OS: 20.7 months vs 11.9 months, P = 0.044) and 20 weeks (median OS: 20.7 months vs 11.7 months, P = 0.015). Finally, we found that in the real world, ES-SCLC patients without liver metastasis (P = 0.002), bone metastasis (P = 0.001) and a total number of metastatic organs < 2 (P = 0.002) are more likely to become long-term survivors after receiving immunotherapy. This study constructed a new prognostic model based on basic patient clinical characteristics and peripheral blood indices, which can be a good predictor of the prognosis of immunotherapy in ES-SCLC patients; in the real world, the response status at milestone time points (6, 12, and 20 weeks) can be a good indicator of long-term survival in ES-SCLC patients receiving immunotherapy.

Dang J ，Xu G ，Guo G ，Zhang H ，Shang L ... -  《-》

Correlation between irAEs and survival outcomes in patients with ES-SCLC treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy.

Chemo-immunotherapy (CT-IO) has improved median overall survival (mOS) for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), but its association with immune-related adverse events (irAEs) remains unclear. While irAEs are often linked to better outcomes in other cancers, their prognostic value in ES-SCLC is not well understood. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 399 consecutive ES-SCLC patients treated with first-line CT-IO between January 2020 and September 2024 across five European centres. Demographic and clinical data were collected. The impact of irAEs on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was assessed using time-dependent Cox regression. The median follow-up was 15.0 months. The overall response rate was 80.3 %, with a median PFS of 6.0 months (95 % CI 5.7-6.3) and mOS of 10.4 months (95 % CI 9.2-11.6). IrAEs occurred in 30.6 % of patients, most commonly affecting the skin (11.0 %). The median time to onset of irAEs was 171 days. Patients with irAEs had significantly longer mPFS (10.8 vs. 5.3 months, p < 0.001) and mOS (18.8 vs. 7.6 months, p < 0.001) compared to those without. No significant difference was found between patients with grade ≥ 3 (n = 46) and < 3 irAEs (n = 76). Multivariate analysis confirmed that irAEs were associated with improved OS (HR 0.64; 95 % CI 0.51-0.80, p < 0.001) and showed a trend towards longer PFS (p = 0.028). This is the largest retrospective study to demonstrate that irAEs are associated with improved clinical outcomes in ES-SCLC pts receiving 1 L CT-IO.

Monaca F ，Gomez-Randulfe I ，Parreira AS ，Longo V ，Galetta D ，Pilotto S ，Polidori S ，Cantale O ，Stefani A ，Vita E ，Taylor P ，Gomes F ，Cove-Smith L ，Summers Y ，Tortora G ，Blackhall F ，Novello S ，Bria E ，Califano R ... -  《-》

Correlation between immune-related adverse events and efficacy of PD-(L)1 inhibitors in small cell lung cancer: a multi-center retrospective study.

Patients receiving PD-(L)1 inhibitors frequently encounter unusual side effects known as immune-related adverse events (irAEs). However, the correlation of irAEs development with clinical response in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is unknown. This retrospective study enrolled 244 stage IV SCLC patients who receiving PD-(L)1 inhibitors from 3 cancer centers. The correlation of irAEs with objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. 140 in 244 (57%) patients experienced irAEs, with 122 (87.1%) experiencing one and 18 (12.9%) experiencing two or more. Compared to patient without irAEs, those developing irAEs had higher ORR (73.6% vs. 52.9%, P < 0.001) and DCR (97.9% vs. 79.8%, P < 0.001), as well as prolonged median PFS (8.8 vs. 4.5 months, P < 0.001) and OS (23.2 vs. 21.6 months, P < 0.05). Among the different spectra of irAEs, thyroid dysfunction, rash, and pneumonitis were the most powerful indicator for improved PFS. When analyzed as a time-dependent covariate, the occurrence of irAEs was associated with significant improvement in PFS rather than in OS. Furthermore, patients experiencing multisystem irAEs displayed a longer PFS and OS compared with single-system irAEs and the irAE-free ones. IrAEs grade and steroid use did not impact the predictive value of irAEs on PFS. The presence of irAEs predicts superior clinical benefit in SCLC. Patients who develop multi-system irAEs may have an improved survival than those developed single-system irAEs and no-irAEs. This association persists even when systemic corticosteroids were used for irAEs management.

Zhang J ，Gao A ，Wang S ，Sun Y ，Wu J ，Wang D ，Ge Y ，Li J ，Sun H ，Cheng Q ，Sun Y ... -  《RESPIRATORY RESEARCH》

Efficacy analysis and prognostic factors of first-line chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: a real-world study.

Extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) is a highly aggressive subtype of lung cancer with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with chemotherapy have demonstrated significant efficacy in several clinical trials. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of first-line chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy in patients with ES-SCLC and identify prognostic factors based on real-world data. This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 349 patients with ES-SCLC treated at Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from January 2018 to August 2023. The patients were divided into a combination group (chemotherapy plus immunotherapy, n = 173) and a chemotherapy group (chemotherapy alone, n = 176) based on their treatment regimens. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoint was treatment-related adverse events. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed, and Cox regression models were used to analyze the factors influencing OS and PFS. The median OS in the combination group was 14.9 months, significantly longer than 11.9 months in the chemotherapy group (P < 0.001). After applying Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to minimize selection bias, the survival advantage remained statistically significant. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates in the combination group were 62.4%, 42.8%, and 19.5%, respectively, compared to 50.2%, 20.8%, and 9.6% in the chemotherapy group. The median PFS in the combination group was 5.4 months, also significantly longer than the 3.8 months observed in the chemotherapy group (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified chemotherapy alone, ECOG performance status, and number of metastatic sites as independent risk factors for poorer OS and PFS (P < 0.001). A separate analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between tumor response (CR/PR/SD/PD) and survival outcomes, which showed that patients with CR/PR had significantly better OS and PFS compared to those with SD/PD (P < 0.001). These findings reinforce the clinical importance of achieving tumor response. There were no significant differences in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups, with most adverse events being grade 1-2, and no grade 5 adverse events were reported. This study demonstrates that chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy significantly prolongs OS and PFS in patients with ES-SCLC without substantially increasing treatment-related adverse events. This combination therapy shows promising clinical value for improving long-term prognosis in ES-SCLC patients. Future studies should explore potential biomarkers to optimize individualized treatment strategies.

Zhou JX ，Sun YC ，Xiao L ，Lu HL ，Yin XM ，Fan K ，Zhou YN ... -  《-》