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• Treatments and outcomes in locally advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. • Real-world patients in France and Germany (2015–2018) without ALK/EGFR mutations. • In first-line-treated patients, >50 % received an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) • Future analyses will allow evaluation of the impact of wider ICI use in first-line. To describe the impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) on treatment patterns and survival outcomes in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) in France and Germany. Patients with aNSCLC without known ALK or EGFR mutations receiving first-line (1L) therapy were included from (i) the retrospective Epidemiological-Strategy and Medical Economics Advanced and Metastatic Lung Cancer cohort (ESME-AMLC, France; 2015–2018) and (ii) the prospective Clinical Research platform Into molecular testing, treatment and outcome of non-Small cell lung carcinoma Patients platform (CRISP, Germany; 2016–2018). Analyses were stratified according to histology. Survival outcomes were estimated using Kaplan–Meier methodology and stratified by year of 1L therapy. Data sources were analysed separately. In ESME-AMLC and CRISP, 8,046 and 2,359 patients were included in the study, respectively. In both countries, approximately 20 % of all patients received pembrolizumab monotherapy as 1L treatment in 2018. In ESME-AMLC, the proportion receiving an ICI over the course of treatment (any line) increased from 42.2 % (2015) to 56.1 % (2018) in patients with squamous histology, and 28.9 % to 51.9 % with non-squamous/other; in CRISP, it increased from 50.6 % (2016) to 65.2 % (2018) with squamous histology, and 40.8 % to 62.7 % with non-squamous/other. Two-year overall survival from 1L initiation was 36.8 % and 25.6 % in the squamous cohorts and 36.5 % and 30.8 % in the non-squamous/other cohorts in ESME-AMLC and CRISP, respectively. No significant change in overall survival was observed over time; however, the follow-up time available was limited in the later years of the analysis. The results of this joint research from two large clinical databases in France and Germany demonstrate the growing use of ICIs in the management of aNSCLC. Future analyses will allow for the evaluation of the impact of ICIs on long-term survival of patients with aNSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The CRISP registry collects representative, nationwide data on NSCLC in Germany. • CRISP mirrors the treatment and disease trajectory of patients with advanced NSCLC. • Biomarker testing rates increased over time, yet are still improvable. • 17.7 % of the patients presented with a druggable alteration. • Median PFS was longer for patients with a druggable EGFR or ALK alteration. An increasing number of treatment-determining biomarkers has been identified in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and molecular testing is recommended to enable optimal individualized treatment. However, data on implementation of these recommendations in the "real-world" setting are scarce. This study presents comprehensive details on the frequency, methodology and results of biomarker testing of advanced NSCLC in Germany. This analysis included 3,717 patients with advanced NSCLC (2,921 non-squamous; 796 squamous), recruited into the CRISP registry at start of systemic therapy by 150 German sites between December 2015 and June 2019. Evaluated were the molecular biomarkers EGFR , ALK , ROS1 , BRAF , KRAS , MET , TP53 , RET , HER2 , as well as expression of PD-L1. In total, 90.5 % of the patients were tested for biomarkers. Testing rates were 92.2 % (non-squamous), 70.7 % (squamous) and increased from 83.2 % in 2015/16 to 94.2% in 2019. Overall testing rates for EGFR , ALK , ROS1 , and BRAF were 72.5 %, 74.5 %, 66.1 %, and 53.0 %, respectively (non-squamous). Testing rates for PD-L1 expression were 64.5 % (non-squamous), and 58.5 % (squamous). The most common testing methods were immunohistochemistry (68.5 % non-squamous, 58.3 % squamous), and next-generation sequencing (38.7 % non-squamous, 14.4 % squamous). Reasons for not testing were insufficient tumor material or lack of guideline recommendations (squamous). No alteration was found in 37.8 % (non-squamous), and 57.9 % (squamous), respectively. Most common alterations in non-squamous tumors (all patients/all patients tested for the respective biomarker): KRAS (17.3 %/39.2 %), TP53 (14.1 %/51.4 %), and EGFR (11.0 %/15.1 %); in squamous tumors: TP53 (7.0 %/69.1 %), MET (1.5 %/11.1 %), and EGFR (1.1 %/4.4 %). Median PFS (non-squamous) was 8.7 months (95 % CI 7.4–10.4) with druggable EGFR mutation, and 8.0 months (95 % CI 3.9–9.2) with druggable ALK alterations. Testing rates in Germany are high nationwide and acceptable in international comparison, but still leave out a significant portion of patients, who could potentially benefit. Thus, specific measures are needed to increase implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Overall survival was similar between cisplatin- and carboplatin-based chemotherapy. • Slightly greater probability of objective response for cisplatin-based chemotherapy. • Drug-related toxicity differed in carboplatin- and cisplatin-based chemotherapy. • Few studies compared health-related quality of life by platinum-based chemotherapy. Platinum-based chemotherapy is the mainstay of first-line (1L) therapy for advanced non-small cell cancer (NSCLC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the relative efficacy, safety, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of carboplatin- versus cisplatin-based chemotherapy in 1L NSCLC. A meta-analysis by the Cochrane group (2013) was updated. Systematic searches of CENTRAL, Medline, Embase, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences database, clinicaltrials.gov and conference proceedings were conducted to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 2013-January 2018 which compared carboplatin and cisplatin combined with: gemcitabine, vinorelbine, docetaxel, paclitaxel, irinotecan, or pemetrexed. Endpoints included overall survival (OS), one-year OS, objective response rate (ORR), grade 3/4 drug-related toxicities, and HRQoL. Twelve RCTs (2,048 patients) were identified from 4,139 records for inclusion in the meta-analysis. There were no significant differences in OS (hazards ratio [HR]: 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.96, 1.21) and one-year OS (relative risk [RR]: 0.97, CI: 0.89, 1.07) between carboplatin- and cisplatin-based chemotherapy. A small effect on ORR favouring cisplatin was detected (RR = 0.88; CI: 0.78, 0.99). Differences in drug-related toxicities were observed between carboplatin- and cisplatin-based chemotherapy for thrombocytopenia, anaemia, neurotoxicity, and the risk of nausea/vomiting. Three RCTs comparing HRQoL between carboplatin- and cisplatin-based chemotherapy found no significant differences. This updated evidence base corroborates findings of previous meta-analyses showing no difference in OS between carboplatin- and cisplatin-based chemotherapy, despite a slight benefit in ORR for cisplatin. Toxicity profiles should be considered alongside patients' comorbidities in the choice of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific cytogenetic alterations in t-MDS and t-AML are associated with different chemotherapeutic agents, such as loss of chromosomal material from #5 and #7 with alkylators. No data have been published on secondary leukemias following the taxane docetaxel. We report a patient, who being in long-term remission after docetaxel-based induction chemotherapy with docetaxel and carboplatin, surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer stage IIIB, developed a t-MDS and subsequently a t-AML 40 months after start of therapy. The t-MDS was characterised by a complex aberrant karyotype including monosomy #13 and partial monosomies of #5 and #7. This is the first report in the literature of t-MDS after docetaxel chemo-radiotherapy, implicating a possible association of docetaxel with alkylator type t-MDS and t-AML. The case will be discussed in the context of a review of the current literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Local ablative therapy (LAT) improves survival in oligometastatic lung cancer (OMD) • Retrospective multicenter analysis from 5 certified German Lung Cancer centers. • The initial metastatic site determines the pattern of relapse. • Subsequent LAT for every recurrence is feasible for 25% of all patients. • Intracranial disease control determines survival and correlates to (repeated) LAT. Local ablative therapy (LAT) improves survival in oligometastatic lung cancer (OMD), but there is limited information on recurrence patterns, re-treatments and in particular the role of brain metastases during the course of disease. We therefore conducted a retrospective multicenter analysis to evaluate course of disease, sequence of therapies and predictors for long-term disease-control in the brain and survival endpoints. Clinical data of patients with synchronous, single organ OMD with ≤4 metastases were collected from 5 certified German lung cancer centers. All patients underwent thorough initial staging including a 18FDG-PET/CT scan, brain imaging and mediastinal staging, if necessary, and received LAT to all sites of disease. In total, 164 patients were included (median age 62 years [range 41–84], non-squamous histology 80%, N0-1 64%, single metastasis 84%), 103 had brain (cohort A), 61 extracranial metastases (cohort B). With a median follow-up of 66 months, 115 patients (70%) experienced recurrent disease with a different distribution of sites: In cohort A vs. B, brain relapses occurred in 56% vs. 18% and new distant metastases in 5% vs. 40%. In total, LAT for every relapse was possible for 25% (29/115) of the patients. Patients with initial and secondary onset brain metastases experienced long-term disease-control in the brain and subsequently favorable survival with the application of repeated LAT (disease in the brain controlled vs. not-controlled, HR 0.21, p < 0.001). Comparable long-term overall survival was observed in patients with no or isolated brain relapses (5-years OS 74% and 92%) in contrast to patients with extracranial relapses (5-years OS 19.6%, p < 0.001). Repeated LAT for recurrent synchronous single organ OMD results in a long-term favorable outcome. Disease control in the brain appears crucial and likely determines survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• NSCLC patients with oligometastastic disease benefit from locally ablative and systemic therapy. • Neoadjuvant immunotherapy results in high pCR and MPR rates. • Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic concept for oligometastastic disease. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have significantly improved outcome of patients with advanced NSCLC and recently also showed benefit in early-stage disease. Patients with oligometastatic disease (OMD) harbor limited metastases, resectable primary tumors and derive benefit from treatment with multimodal locally ablative and systemic therapy approaches. Nothing is known about feasibility and efficacy of neoadjuvant ICI in this setting. We here provide data from a multicenter retrospective study comprising 13 patients with NSCLC and OMD (≤3 distant metastases) from 5 university medical centers in Germany who have been treated with neoadjuvant ICI alone (n = 4) or in combination with chemotherapy (CT) (n = 9) prior to resection of the primary tumor. We analyzed complete (pCR) and major pathological remission (MPR) rates. These data show that neoadjuvant immunotherapy applied mostly in combination with CT results in high rates of pCR and MPR (54 and 69%, respectively). Up to now, 85% of patients are free of progression with a median follow-up of 9 months (3–28 months). Single cell RNASeq analysis of tumor tissue from one patient treated with CT-ICI indicates a strong predominance of adaptive immune cell populations over a small minority of epithelial (tumor) cells. Neoadjuvant ICI with or without CT is a promising therapeutic concept in patients with OMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New generation ALK TKIs, such as brigatinib, have improved the prognosis of ALK+ metastatic NSCLC (mNSCLC). • We report a retrospective chart review of outcomes of brigatinib treatment of heavily pretreated ALK+ mNSCLC in four European countries. • Patients with ALK+ mNSCLC treated with 2nd-line brigatinib had similar outcomes to patients in the ALTA trial who had received prior crizotinib. • Brigatinib is active and is well tolerated when used in patients with ALK+ mNSCLC more heavily pretreated than those enrolled in clinical trials. The next-generation ALK inhibitor brigatinib is approved for use in patients with ALK inhibitor-naïve ALK-positive advanced NSCLC and in patients previously treated with crizotinib. A phase II trial showed that brigatinib is active in patients with ALK-positive metastatic NSCLC (mNSCLC) who had progressed on prior crizotinib (response rate 56 %, median PFS 16.7 months, median OS 34.1 months). We report final data from the UVEA-Brig study of brigatinib in ALK inhibitor-pretreated ALK-positive mNSCLC in clinical practice. UVEA-Brig was a retrospective chart review of patients treated with brigatinib in Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK in an expanded access program. Adults with ALK-positive mNSCLC, including those with brain lesions, resistant to or intolerant of ≥1 prior ALK inhibitor and ECOG performance status ≤3 were eligible. Patients received brigatinib 180 mg once daily with a 7-day lead-in at 90 mg. The objectives were to describe patient characteristics, clinical disease presentation, treatment regimens used and clinical outcomes. Data for 104 patients (male: 43 %; median age: 53 [29–80] years; ECOG performance status 0/1/2/3: 41/41/10/5 %; brain/CNS metastases: 63 %) were analyzed. Patients had received a median of 2 (1–6) lines of systemic therapy prior to brigatinib (37.5 % received ≥3) and a median of 1 (1–5) lines of prior ALK inhibitor-containing therapy (crizotinib 83.6 %; ceritinib 50.0 %; alectinib 6.7 %; lorlatinib 4.8 %). At the time of analysis, 77 patients had discontinued brigatinib. Overall, the response rate was 39.8 %, median PFS was 11.3 (95 % CI:8.6–12.9) months and median OS was 23.3 (95 % CI: 16.0–NR) months. Four patients discontinued brigatinib treatment due to adverse events. 53 patients received systemic therapy after brigatinib, 42 with an ALK inhibitor (lorlatinib, n = 34). These real-world data indicate the activity and tolerability of brigatinib in patients with ALK-positive mNSCLC who were more heavily pretreated than patients included in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Real world data on afatinib safety are consistent with clinical trial data. • Afatinib dose adjustment reduced the frequency/intensity of adverse drug reactions. • Modified dosing had no impact on effectiveness. • 18.7 months' time on treatment, even with 12% poor performance status patients. Abstract Objectives In the LUX-Lung clinical trials of afatinib in EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC, tolerability-guided dose adjustment reduced the incidence and severity of adverse events while maintaining efficacy. The RealGiDo study evaluated the impact of afatinib dose adjustment in a real-world setting. Materials and methods This non-interventional, observational study used medical records of EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC patients treated with first-line afatinib. Primary outcomes were adverse drug reaction (ADR) incidence and severity, time to treatment failure (TTF), and time to progression (TTP), relative to LUX-Lung 3 (LL3). Results 228 patients were enrolled from 13 countries. Baseline characteristics were in line with LL3 but with more Del19 patients (78.1% vs. 49.0%) and fewer Asian patients (43.9% vs. 72.2%); 11.8% had ECOG performance status 2–3. A total of 71 (31.1%) received a modified starting dose of ≤30 mg. Of patients who started with 40 mg, 67.1% underwent dose reductions, 86.5% of which were in the first 6 months. Dose reductions were mainly due to ADRs and were more common in female, East Asian, and low body-weight patients. There were no new safety signals and fewer ≥grade 3 ADRs (28.4% vs. 48.9%) and serious adverse events (5.2% vs. 14.0%) than in LL3. Median TTF and TTP were 18.7 and 20.8 months, respectively, and were not impacted by reduced starting dose or dose modification. Conclusion Real-world data show that afatinib dose adjustments reduced the frequency and intensity of ADRs without compromising effectiveness, highlighting the benefit of tailoring afatinib dose to optimise treatment outcomes and supporting clinical decision-making. The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02751879). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: The clinical benefit and safety profile associated with first-line bevacizumab with doublet chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was established in two large phase III studies, E4599 and AVAiL. SAiL, a single-arm phase IV study, was conducted to evaluate bevacizumab with a range of first-line chemotherapy regimens in a routine oncology practice setting. Methods: This analysis of the SAiL data was undertaken to specifically evaluate bleeding adverse events (AEs) in this study, and to explore potential associations between bleeding and baseline patient and disease characteristics. Results: In total, 2212 patients were evaluated. Bleeding AEs (any grade) occurred in 38.2% of patients (grade ≥3 bleeding AEs: 3.6%). Grade ≥3 pulmonary hemorrhage and central nervous system bleeding events were observed in 0.7% and 0.1% of patients, respectively. The incidence of grade ≥3 bleeding AEs was comparable across patient subgroups defined by central tumor location, tumor cavitation, histology, concomitant anticoagulation therapy and age. The majority (88.6%) of bleeding events resolved or improved, 10.2% persisted and 1.3% led to death; 10.2% of bleeding events required bevacizumab interruption or discontinuation. Conclusions: This analysis from the SAiL trial reaffirms a comparable incidence of clinically significant bleeding associated with first-line bevacizumab and chemotherapy as previous phase III studies in NSCLC patients despite less stringent first-line selection criteria. Grade ≥3 bleeding appears to be comparable when analyzed for patient and tumor characteristics, including tumor cavitation and concomitant anticoagulation therapy. Most bleeding events resolved or improved, and interruption/discontinuation of bevacizumab was infrequent in a standard oncology practice setting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]