Intracranial activity of first-line immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract. Background:. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly used as first-line therapy for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring no actionable mutations; however, data on their efficacy among patients presenting with intracranial lesions are limited. This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of ICIs combined with chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC patients with measurable brain metastasis at initial diagnosis. Methods:. Our study retrospectively analyzed clinical data of a total of 211 patients diagnosed with driver gene mutation-negative advanced NSCLC with measurable, asymptomatic brain metastasis at baseline from Hunan Cancer Hospital between January 1, 2019 and September 30, 2021. The patients were stratified into two groups according to the first-line treatment regimen received: ICI combined with chemotherapy (n = 102) or chemotherapy (n = 109). Systemic and intracranial objective response rates (ORRs) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed. Adverse events were also compared between the groups. Results:. Compared with the chemotherapy-based regimen, the ICI-containing regimen was associated with a significantly higher intracranial (44.1% [45/102] vs. 28.4% [31/109], χ2 = 5.620, P = 0.013) and systemic (49.0% [50/102] vs. 33.9% [37/109], χ2 = 4.942, P = 0.019) ORRs and longer intracranial (11.0 months vs. 7.0 months, P