Phase III, randomized trial (CheckMate 057) of nivolumab (NIVO) versus docetaxel (DOC) in advanced non-squamous cell (non-SQ) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

LBA109 Background: Options for advanced non-SQ NSCLC patients (pts) who progress after platinum-based doublet chemotherapy (PT-DC) are limited, with minimal improvement in overall survival (OS). We report results from a randomized, global phase III study of NIVO, a fully human IgG4 programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor antibody, vs DOC in pts with advanced non-SQ NSCLC after failure of PT-DC and tyrosine kinase inhibitor, if eligible. Methods: Pts were randomized to NIVO 3 mg/kg Q2W (n=292) or DOC 75 mg/m2 Q3W (n=290) until progression or discontinuation due to toxicity/other reasons. Primary objective was OS; Secondary objectives were investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR; per RECIST v1.1), progression-free survival (PFS), efficacy by PD-L1 expression, quality of life, and safety. Results: NIVO demonstrated superior OS (HR=0.73; 96% CI: 0.59, 0.89; P=0.00155) and improved ORR (19.2% vs 12.4%; P=0.0235). HR for PFS was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.77, 1.11; P=0.393). PD-L1 expression was associated with benefit from NIVO (Table). In PD-L1+ pts, NIVO showed improved efficacy across all endpoints at predefined 1%, 5%, and 10% cut- points. Grade 3–5 drug-related AEs occurred in 10.5% (30/287) of NIVO and 53.7% (144/268) of DOC pts. No deaths were related to NIVO vs 1 DOC-related death. After discontinuation, 42.1% of NIVO and 49.7% of DOC pts received subsequent systemic therapy. Conclusions: NIVO demonstrated superior OS vs DOC in pts with advanced non-SQ NSCLC after failure of PT-DC. The safety profile of NIVO 3 mg/kg Q2W was favorable vs DOC. NIVO demonstrated survival benefit across histologies in two randomized phase III trials. Clinical trial information: NCT01673867. [Table: see text]