Table 1.
Characteristics of the 12 randomized controlled trials comparing immune checkpoint inhibitors ± chemotherapy with chemotherapy ± placebo
| Study/year of publication | Study phase | PD‐1/D‐L1 inhibitors | Mean age (years) | Male (%) | Histology | PD‐L1 cut‐off | Treatment comparison | No. patients |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reck et al./201625 | Phase III | Pembrolizumab | 64.5 (33–90) vs. 66 (38–85) | 92,59.7% vs. 95,62.9% | Any | PD‐L1 ≥50% | Pembrolizumab 200 mg Q3W vs. chemotherapy | 305 |
| Lopes et al./201833 | Phase III | Pembrolizumab | 63 (25–89) vs. 63 (31–90) | 450, 70.6% vs. 452, 71.0% | Any | PD‐L1 ≥1% | Pembrolizumab 200 mg, Q3w vs. chemotherapy | 1274 |
| Gandhi et al./201836 | Phase III | Pembrolizumab | 65 (34–84) vs. 63.5 (34–84) | 254, 62% vs. 109, 52.9% | Non‐squamous | PD‐L1 ≥1% | Pembrolizumab 200 mg Q3W + chemo vs. chemo + placebo | 616 |
| Langer et al./201827, 31 | Phase II | Pembrolizumab | 62.5 (54–70) vs. 63.2 (58–70) | 22, 37% vs. 26, 41% | Non‐squamous | PD‐L1 ≥1% | Pembrolizumab 200 mg Q3W + PC vs. PC | 123 |
| Paz‐Ares et al./201830 | Phase III | Pembrolizumab | 65 (29–87) vs. 65 (36–88) | 220, 79.1% vs. 235, 83.6% | Squamous | Any | Pembrolizumab 200 mg Q3W + chemo vs. chemo | 560 |
| Carbone et al./201721 | Phase III | Nivolumab | 63 (32–89) vs. 65 (29–87) | 184, 68% vs. 148, 55% | Any | PD‐L1 ≥5% | Nivolumab 3 mg/kg Q2W + chemo vs. chemo + placebo | 541 |
| Hellmann et al./201835 | Phase III | Nivolumab Ipilimumab |
64 (41–87) vs. 64 (29–80) | 98, 70.5% vs. 106, 66.2% | Any | Any | Nivolumab 3 mg/kg Q2W + Ipilimumab 1 mg/kg Q6W vs. Nivolumab 240 mg Q2W + chemo vs. chemo | 1189 |
| Borghaei et al./201832 | Phase III | Nivolumab Ipilimumab |
64 vs. 64 | 27% vs. 33% | Any | PD‐L1 <1% | Nivolumab 3 mg/kg Q2W + ipilimumab 1 mg/kg Q6W vs. Nivolumab 360 mg Q3W + chemo vs. chemo | 550 |
| Jotte et al./201834 | Phase III | Atezolizumab | 66 (43–85) vs. 65 (23–83) vs. 65 (38–86) | 278, 82% vs. 279,81%, vs. 278, 82% | Squamous | Any | Ate + Carb + NAB‐pac vs. Ate + Carb + Pac vs. Carb + NAB‐pac | 1021 |
| Socinski et al./201829 | Phase III | Atezolizumab | 63 (31–89) vs. 63 (31–90) | 240, 60% vs. 239, 59.8% | Non‐squamous | Any | Atezo 1200 mg + PC + bevacizumab vs. PC + bevacizumab | 1045 |
| Govindan et al./201728 | Phase III | Ipilimumab | 64 (28–84) vs. 64 (28–85) | 326, 84% vs. 309,85% | Squamous | NA | Ipilimumab 10 mg/kg Q3W + chemo vs. chemo + placebo | 956 |
| Lynch et al./201226 | Phase II | Ipilimumab | 59 (36–82) vs. 61 (36–88) vs. 62 (36–88) | 53, 76% vs. 49,72%, vs. 49, 74% | Any | NA | Concurrent or phased ipilimumab 10 mg/kg Q3W + chemo vs. chemo + placebo | 204 |
Carb, carboplatin; Chemo, chemotherapy; NA, not available; NAB‐pac, nab‐paclitaxel; PC, paclitaxel plus carboplatin; PD‐L1, programmed death‐ligand 1; Q2W, two weeks using a time; Q3W, three weeks using a time; Q6W, six weeks using a time.