Researcher from Imperial College London Discusses Findings in Opioids [Early opioid exposure (EOE) and impaired efficacy in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with PD-L1 inhibition: A pooled post hoc analysis of the POPLAR and OAK trials].

A recent study conducted by researchers from Imperial College London examined the impact of early opioid exposure (EOE) on the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study analyzed data from two clinical trials and found that EOE was associated with poorer response rates and progression-free survival in patients treated with atezolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, but not in those treated with docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug. The findings suggest that opioids may have an immune-modulating effect on anti-tumor immunity, and further research is needed to explore potential mitigation strategies. [Extracted from the article]