Asimina Nikolakopoulou, Kon/nos Tzimopoulos, Haralambos Kerasiotis, Anastasios Kallianos, Catherine Kavvada, Helen Gkartzonika, Emilia Tsarouha, Angeliki Rapti
Background: Lung cancer has recently emerged as a key objective of immunotherapies. Several patients with advanced lung cancer have benefitted significantly, demonstrating prolonged remissions of the disease and prolongation of survival while the treatment toxicity is reduced. The purpose of the study is to assess nivolumab as a second-line treatment in patients with squamous cell and non-squamous cell lung cancer.
Methods: It is a prospective study in which nivolumab is administered as 2nd or 3rd line treatment in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date 5 patients with NSCLC have been included in the study, who had previously received chemotherapy based on platinum, of which three are evaluable. These are two men 64 and 65 years old, the first with squamous cell carcinoma, the second with adenocarcinoma and one woman 61 years old also with adenocarcinoma. All three patients were diagnosed with stage IV disease and received first line chemotherapy based on platinum. Due to disease recurrence both had received second line chemotherapy before beginning immunotherapy while the third had concluded first-line treatment and received maintenance therapy. All patients were administered nivolumab (3 mg/kg) every 2 weeks.
Results: The three patients have received up to date nivolumab for 4, 5 and 6 months, respectively, and continue without adverse effects. Only one patient experienced thyroiditis two months after the start of immunotherapy with nivolumab, which receded with appropriate treatment. At restaging after the completion of the fourth cycle, one patient's disease had a partial response while the other two are stable.
Conclusions: The advanced NSCLC is a difficult disease to be treated, despite significant advances in therapeutic management. Nivolumab appears to be a safe new therapeutic agent that can be used as second-line treatment in NSCLC. The study is ongoing and results from a larger number of patients are expected
