Outcomes with durvalumab after chemoradiotherapy in stage IIIA-N2 non-small-cell lung cancer: an exploratory analysis from the PACIFIC trial

S Senan, M Özgüroğlu, D Daniel, A Villegas, D Vicente, S Murakami, R Hui, C Faivre-Finn, L Paz-Ares, Y L Wu, H Mann, P A Dennis, S J Antonia, S Senan, M Özgüroğlu, D Daniel, A Villegas, D Vicente, S Murakami, R Hui, C Faivre-Finn, L Paz-Ares, Y L Wu, H Mann, P A Dennis, S J Antonia

Abstract

Background: The phase III PACIFIC trial (NCT02125461) established consolidation durvalumab as standard of care for patients with unresectable, stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and no disease progression following chemoradiotherapy (CRT). In some cases, patients with stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC are considered operable, but the relative benefit of surgery is unclear. We report a post hoc, exploratory analysis of clinical outcomes in the PACIFIC trial, in patients with or without stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC.

Materials and methods: Patients with unresectable, stage III NSCLC and no disease progression after ≥2 cycles of platinum-based, concurrent CRT were randomized 2 : 1 to receive durvalumab (10 mg/kg intravenously; once every 2 weeks for up to 12 months) or placebo, 1-42 days after CRT. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS; assessed by blinded independent central review according to RECIST version 1.1) and overall survival (OS). Treatment effects within subgroups were estimated by hazard ratios (HRs) from unstratified Cox proportional hazards models.

Results: Of 713 randomized patients, 287 (40%) had stage IIIA-N2 disease. Baseline characteristics were similar between patients with and without stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC. With a median follow-up of 14.5 months (range: 0.2-29.9 months), PFS was improved with durvalumab versus placebo in both patients with [HR = 0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.33-0.65] and without (HR = 0.62; 95% CI 0.48-0.80) stage IIIA-N2 disease. Similarly, with a median follow-up of 25.2 months (range: 0.2-43.1 months), OS was improved with durvalumab versus placebo in patients with (HR = 0.56; 95% CI 0.39-0.79) or without (HR = 0.78; 95% CI 0.57-1.06) stage IIIA-N2 disease. Durvalumab had a manageable safety profile irrespective of stage IIIA-N2 status.

Conclusions: Consistent with the intent-to-treat population, treatment benefits with durvalumab were confirmed in patients with stage IIIA-N2, unresectable NSCLC. Prospective studies are needed to determine the optimal treatment approach for patients who are deemed operable.

Keywords: chemotherapy; immunotherapy; multimodality therapy; radiation therapy; surgery.

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure SS reports participating on advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Celgene, Merck Sharp & Dohme, BeiGene, Eli Lilly, and Varian Medical Systems; and institutional research grants from AstraZeneca, Varian Medical Systems, and ViewRay Inc. MÖ reports receiving personal fees from Janssen, Astellas, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and MSD; and reports receiving a research grant from Janssen. DD reports receiving institutional research support from AstraZeneca, Genentech, Guardant Health, Janssen Research and Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb, G1 Therapeutics, Merck & Co, Inc., Novartis, AbbVie, ARMO Biosciences, Immunomedics, Eli Lilly, Merus NV, and Daiichi Sankyo. AV reports receiving personal fees for participating in a speakers’ bureau for AstraZeneca. DV reports receiving honoraria from AstraZeneca; receiving institutional research support from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Roche; undertaking a consulting or advisory role for AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, MDS Oncology, Pfizer, and Roche/Genentech; and receiving travel/accommodation/expenses from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Roche. SM reports receiving institutional research support from Takeda Pharmaceuticals; and receiving travel/accommodations/expenses from AstraZeneca, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Boehringer Ingelheim, Taiho Pharmaceutical, and Ono Pharmaceutical. RH reports participating on advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Merck, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Oncosec, Pfizer, Seagen, and Roche; receiving honoraria from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Merck, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Oncosec, Pfizer, Seagen, and Roche; receiving research funding (paid to the institution) from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Onosec, Roche, and Seagen; and receiving travel, accommodations, and expenses from Novartis. CF-F reports receiving honoraria from AstraZeneca; participating in a speaker’s bureau and an advisory board for AstraZeneca (fees paid to institution); is a scientific committee member/chair for AstraZeneca; and reports receiving research funding and travel, accommodations, or expenses from AstraZeneca and Elekta. LP-A reports being board member of Genomica; participating in a leadership role for ALTUM Sequencing; participating in a speaker’s bureau for AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Merk Serono, MSD Oncology, Pfizer, and Roche/Genentech; receiving honoraria from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Blueprint Medicines, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Incyte, Ipsen, Eli Lilly, Merck Serono, Mirati Therapeutics, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, PharmaMar, Roche/Genentech, Sanofi, Servier, Sysmex, and Takeda; receiving research funding (paid to the institution) from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kura Oncology, Merck Sharp and Dohme, and PharmaMar; and receiving travel, accommodations, or expenses from Roche, AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca Spain, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Takeda. YLW reports receiving institutional research support from Roche, Pfizer, and Boehringer Ingelheim; receiving consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Takeda, Roche, and Merck; and receiving honoraria from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb/China, Hengrui Pharmaceutical, MSD Oncology, Eli Lilly, Roche, Pierre Fabre, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Merck. HM is an employee of AstraZeneca and holds stock or stock options in AstraZeneca. PAD is a former employee of AstraZeneca and holds stock or stock options in AstraZeneca. SJA reports a consulting or advisory role for AstraZeneca, Achilles Therapeutics, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, CBMG, Celsius Therapeutics, EMD Serono, G1 Therapeutics, GlaxoSmithKline, Glympse Bio, Memgen, Merck, RAPT Therapeutics, Samyang, Tarus Therapeutics, and Venn Therapeutics.

Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Shown are Kaplan-Meier curves for PFS. The tick marks indicate censored data, and the dashed vertical lines indicate the times of landmark analyses of PFS. PFS in patients (A) with or (B) withouta stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC. CI, confidence interval; DCO, data cut-off; HR, hazard ratio; NE, not estimable; NR, not reached; NSCLC, non-small-cell lung cancer; PFS, progression-free survival. aPatients with all other stages (including stages IIIA-N0/N1 and IIIB). DCO = 13 February 2017 (DCO for the primary analysis of PFS): median follow-up of 14.5 months (range: 0.2-29.9 months).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Shown are Kaplan-Meier curves for OS. The tick marks indicate censored data, and the dashed vertical lines indicate the times of landmark analyses of OS. OS in patients (A) with or (B) withouta stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC. CI, confidence interval; DCO, data cut-off; HR, hazard ratio; NE, not estimable; NR, not reached; NSCLC, non-small-cell lung cancer; OS, overall survival. aPatients with all other stages (including stages IIIA-N0/N1 and IIIB). DCO = 22 March 2018 (DCO for the primary analysis of OS): median follow-up of 25.2 months (range: 0.2-43.1 months).

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