The respective OS rates for the Jemperli and Keytruda groups were 63% versus 58% at 12 months, 51% versus 43% at 18 months, 46% versus 33% at 24 months and 40% versus 27% at 30 months.
The OS results were also related to PD-L1 status. For patients with a PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) of less than 1%, the median OS was 20.8 months in the Jemperli group versus 16.1 months in the Keytruda group. For patients with a PD-L1 TPS of 1% or more, the median OS was 19.4 months versus 15.9 months. Patients with a PD-L1 TPS of 1% to 49% had a median OS of 17.1 months versus 14.5 months. Patients with a PD-L1 TPS of 50% or more had a median OS of not reached versus 17.6. When the median OS is not reached, it means the average amount of patients with a PD-L1 TPS of 50% or more did not experience death by the data collection date.
“The updated OS analysis reaffirms the previous observation that efficacy and safety data were generally comparable between patients with [Jemperli] plus chemotherapy and those treated with [Keytruda] plus chemotherapy,” Dr. Solange Peters noted during the presentation. “The previously observed numerical trend in OS favoring [Jemperli] plus chemotherapy versus [Keytruda] and chemotherapy was maintained.”
Peters is a full professor and chair of the Medical Oncology and Thoracic Malignancies Programme in the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland.
Glossary
Overall survival (OS): time patients live with their cancer, regardless of its status.
PD-L1 status: the amount of PD-L1 (a protein that controls the body’s immune response) in a tumor and its ability to respond to the immunotherapy treatment.
Tumor proportion score (TPS): how much PD-L1 is expressed on tumor cells.
ECOG performance status: how well patients can independently complete their tasks based on a 0 to 4 score. A score of 0 means they are fully independent and a 4 means they cannot complete tasks independently.
A majority of patients between the Jemperli and Keytruda groups were male (70% versus 63%), and the median age was 64 years versus 65years. Brain metastases were present in 18% versus 12% of patients and an ECOG performance status of 1 was noted in each group (69% versus 59%).
Overall, 36% of patients in the Jemperli group and 21% in the Keytruda group are still receiving treatment, while 64% versus 79% have completed therapy. Of note, 61% versus 73% of patients died because of any reason, and 2% versus 6% of patients withdrew from the study.
The safety profile remained consistent with previous results. Any-grade side effects were noted in 98% of patients in the Jemperli group compared with 98% in the Keytruda group. In each arm, 85% versus 81% had treatment-related side effects and 65% versus 66% had side effects that were grade 3 (severe) or worse. Fatal side effects occurred in 12% versus 10% of patients, respectively.
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Reference
“Updated overall survival from PERLA a phase II randomized double-blind trial of dostarlimab + chemotherapy vs pembrolizumab + chemotherapy in metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer” by Dr. Solange Peters, et al., 2024 SITC Annual Meeting.
