Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a major type of lung cancer that can affect both smokers and non-smokers. Studies have confirmed the efficacy of atezolizumab, an anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of metastatic NSCLC with PD-L1 expression when compared with platinum-based chemotherapy. This study aims to compare the efficacy of atezolizumab and platinum chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic NSCLC.
This randomized, phase 3, open-label trial included a total of 572 patients with metastatic squamous or non-squamous NSCLC who had not received chemotherapy before. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive atezolizumab or chemotherapy. The primary outcome of the study was overall survival.
Among the 572 included patients, the overall survival was 7.1 months longer in the atezolizumab group than in the chemotherapy group. The incidence rate of adverse events was 90.2% in the atezolizumab group and 94.7% in the chemotherapy group, with the incidence of grade 3 or 4 adverse events being 30.1% and 52.5%, respectively. The progression-free survival was also longer in the atezolizumab group.
The research concluded that atezolizumab therapy resulted in longer overall survival than platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with metastatic NSCLC.
Ref: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1917346
