Journal Article DKFZ-2025-02257

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Immune checkpoint inhibition alters patterns of failure in inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy.

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2025
Springer Heidelberg

Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology 151(12), 313 () [10.1007/s00432-025-06355-y]
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Abstract: We compared failure patterns in patients with inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) alone versus CRT combined with sequential and/or concurrent immune checkpoint inhibitors (CRT-IO).Retrospective real-world data from 221 patients across two German tertiary cancer centers were analyzed. Of these, 74 received CRT-IO, including sequential durvalumab (85%) and concurrent/sequential nivolumab (15%), while 148 received CRT alone. First failure site and time to failure were compared.Between 2012 and 2022, all patients received thoracic radiotherapy (≥ 60 Gy) and at least two cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy. Induction chemotherapy was administered in 36%, and induction chemo-immunotherapy in 2%. Median follow-up was 51.7 months (95% CI 47.0-56.4). Median overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort was 37.1 months (95% CI 26.0-48.2), with OS in the CRT-IO group not reached vs. 27.1 months (95% CI 18.5-25.7) in the CRT group (p < 0.001). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 22.8 months (95% CI 6.4-39.1) for CRT-IO versus. 9.9 months (95% CI 7.0-12.8) for CRT (p = 0.001, see Fig. 1). Failure patterns differed significantly. CRT-IO patients had lower loco-regional progression (LRP) rates (9.5% vs. 21.8%, p = 0.023) and were more frequently alive without progression (45.9% vs. 16.3%, p < 0.001). Brain metastasis (BM) as the first failure, multifocal progression (MFP) and isolated extracranial distant metastasis (ecDM) rates were comparable between the CRT and CRT-IO subgroup. Women had a higher risk of isolated BM (17.3% vs. 6.8%, p = 0.016), whereas squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients had higher LRP rates (25.3% vs. 13.0%, p = 0.016). Median post-progression survival (PPS) was 19.4 months (95% CI 16.8-22.0) for CRT-IO and 9.5 months (95% CI 5.8-13.1) for CRT (p = 0.207). PPS was longer after BM (19.9 months) vs. LRP (8.5 months, p = 0.076) and significantly better in women (20.7 vs. 8.9 months, p = 0.012) and adenocarcinoma/non-otherwise-specified-carcinoma (AC/NOS) vs. SCC (p < 0.001).CRT-IO significantly improves OS, PFS, and LRP control compared to CRT alone. Failure patterns and survival disparities by histology and gender suggest tailored surveillance and treatment strategies are needed. Further studies should optimize management of LRP and long-term outcomes in CRT-IO-treated patients.

Keyword(s): Humans (MeSH) ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung: therapy (MeSH) ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung: pathology (MeSH) ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung: drug therapy (MeSH) ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung: mortality (MeSH) ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung: immunology (MeSH) ; Female (MeSH) ; Male (MeSH) ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: therapeutic use (MeSH) ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: administration & dosage (MeSH) ; Lung Neoplasms: pathology (MeSH) ; Lung Neoplasms: therapy (MeSH) ; Lung Neoplasms: drug therapy (MeSH) ; Lung Neoplasms: mortality (MeSH) ; Lung Neoplasms: immunology (MeSH) ; Aged (MeSH) ; Middle Aged (MeSH) ; Retrospective Studies (MeSH) ; Chemoradiotherapy: methods (MeSH) ; Neoplasm Staging (MeSH) ; Adult (MeSH) ; Aged, 80 and over (MeSH) ; Treatment Failure (MeSH) ; Nivolumab: administration & dosage (MeSH) ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols: therapeutic use (MeSH) ; Antibodies, Monoclonal (MeSH) ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Immunotherapy ; Lung cancer ; NSCLC ; Patterns-of-failure ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors ; Nivolumab ; durvalumab ; Antibodies, Monoclonal

Classification:

Contributing Institute(s):
  1. DKTK Koordinierungsstelle München (MU01)
Research Program(s):
  1. 899 - ohne Topic (POF4-899) (POF4-899)

Appears in the scientific report 2025
Database coverage:
Medline ; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; DEAL Springer ; DEAL Springer ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection
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 Record created 2025-11-03, last modified 2025-11-09



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