Analysis of Pleiotropic Effects of Nivolumab in Pretreated Advanced or Recurrent Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Cases

Abstract

Background/aim: Nivolumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We investigated the safety and efficacy of nivolumab by analyzing the response factor, adverse effects (AE), and the post-treatment condition of pretreated advanced or recurrent NSCLC patients.

Patients and methods: Nivolumab (3 mg/kg) was administered to 79 pre-treated NSCLC patients from December 2015 to January 2018. Nivolumab efficacy and AE were assessed using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors and the Common Terminology Criteria, respectively.

Results: Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly prolonged in cases where the therapeutic effect of the pretreatment was a partial response (p=0.0004). Five cases (6.3%) experienced grade 3-4 AEs. PFS was significantly prolonged in the skin rash group versus the non-skin rash group, and in patients where nivolumab treatment was discontinued.

Conclusions: Long-term survival was observed in patients with skin rash. Therapeutic effect of nivolumab immediately following its administration appears to be favorable for survival.

Keywords: Immune checkpoint inhibitor; durable response; immune-related adverse event; nivolumab; non-small cell lung cancer; programmed cell death ligand 1.