For patients with metastatic NSCLC receiving immunotherapy, outcomes are similar across racial and ethnic groups, but Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) is associated with survival, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Matthew Lee, MD, MPH, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study of 5,920 patients diagnosed with lung cancer who received treatment. For a median of 12 months, the researchers followed 248 patients (39.1%, 30.2%, and 30.7% non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White, respectively) with metastatic NSCLC without eGFR, ALK, or ROS1 alterations who underwent first-line immunotherapy. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and time to discontinuation (TTD) were similar among racial and ethnic groups. The study team observed longer OS for patients with an ECOG PS of less than 2 versus 2 or greater at the start of immunotherapy. PD-L1 (<50% vs ≥50%) and BMI were associated with PFS; associations were also seen for ECOG PS and BMI with TTD. ECOG PS was the only significant variable in a multivariable analysis of OS and PFS.
