Table 1. Characteristics of advanced lung cancer patients treated with ICIs.
| Variable | All patients (n=107) | Rechallenge (n=45) | Non-rechallenge (n=62) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), median [range] | 66 [36–85] | 65 [36–85] | 66 [43–85] | 0.58 |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.34 | |||
| Male | 92 (86.0) | 37 (82.2) | 55 (88.7) | |
| Female | 15 (14.0) | 8 (17.8) | 7 (11.3) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.29 | |||
| Current/former | 68 (63.6) | 28 (62.2) | 40 (64.5) | |
| Never | 39 (36.4) | 17 (37.8) | 22 (35.5) | |
| Histologic type, n (%) | 0.48 | |||
| Squamous | 49 (45.8) | 23 (51.1) | 26 (41.9) | |
| Adenocarcinoma | 35 (32.7) | 11 (24.4) | 24 (38.7) | |
| SCLC | 13 (12.1) | 6 (13.3) | 7 (11.3) | |
| Other | 10 (9.3) | 5 (11.1) | 5 (8.1) | |
| Preexisting lung disease, n (%) | 19 (17.8) | 8 (17.8) | 11 (17.7) | 0.99 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 16 (15.0) | 6 (13.3) | 10 (16.1) | 0.69 |
| Pulmonary fibrosis | 2 (1.9) | 2 (4.4) | 0 | 0.18 |
| Pulmonary tuberculosis | 1 (0.9) | 0 | 1 (1.6) | 1 |
| Radiation before CIP, n (%) | 33 (30.8) | 10 (22.2) | 23 (37.1) | 0.10 |
| Chest | 23 (21.5) | 6 (13.3) | 17 (27.4) | 0.080 |
| Non-chest | 7 (6.5) | 2 (4.4) | 5 (8.1) | 0.19 |
| Both | 3 (2.8) | 2 (4.4) | 1 (1.6) | 0.57 |
| ECOG PS, n (%) | 1 | |||
| 0–1 | 103 (96.3) | 43 (95.6) | 60 (96.8) | |
| ≥2 | 4 (3.7) | 2 (4.4) | 2 (3.2) | |
| PD-L1 expression status, n (%) | 0.40 | |||
| <1% | 28 (26.2) | 14 (31.1) | 14 (22.6) | |
| 1–49% | 15 (14.0) | 4 (8.9) | 11 (17.7) | |
| ≥50% | 7 (6.5) | 3 (6.7) | 4 (6.5) | |
| Unknown | 57 (53.3) | 24 (53.3) | 33 (53.2) | |
| Treatment lines, n (%) | 0.33 | |||
| 1 | 73 (68.2) | 33 (73.3) | 40 (64.5) | |
| ≥2 | 34 (31.8) | 12 (26.7) | 22 (35.5) | |
| ICI type, n (%) | 0.45 | |||
| Anti-PD-1 | 100 (93.5) | 41 (91.1) | 59 (95.2) | |
| Anti-PD-L1 | 7 (6.5) | 4 (8.9) | 3 (4.8) | |
| Treatment data, n (%) | 0.36 | |||
| Monotherapy | 23 (21.5) | 6 (13.3) | 17 (27.4) | |
| Combination with chemotherapy | 65 (60.7) | 30 (66.7) | 35 (56.5) | |
| Combination with anti-angiogenesis | 5 (4.7) | 2 (4.4) | 3 (4.8) | |
| Combination with chemotherapy and anti-angiogenesis | 14 (13.1) | 7 (15.6) | 7 (11.3) | |
| Best response, n (%) | 0.011* | |||
| Partial response | 45 (42.1) | 27 (60.0) | 18 (29.0) | |
| Stable disease | 47 (43.9) | 17 (37.8) | 30 (48.4) | |
| Progression of disease | 8 (7.5) | 1 (2.2) | 7 (11.3) | |
| Not evaluated | 7 (6.5) | 0 | 7 (11.3) | |
| ORR (%) (95% CI) | 45.0 (35.1–54.9) | 60.0 (45.1–74.9) | 32.7 (19.9–45.5) | 0.006* |
| Median PFS (months) (95% CI) | 8.8 (5.3–12.2) | 17.9 (11.2–24.6) | 7.0 (5.6–8.4) | 0.008* |
| Median OS (months) (95% CI) | 17.2 (10.5–24.0) | 23.5 (16.5–30.5) | 12.6 (9.4–15.7) | 0.024* |
*, P<0.05. ICI, immune checkpoint inhibitor; SCLC, small cell lung cancer; CIP, checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis; ECOG PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status; PD-L1, programmed death ligand-1; PD-1, programmed cell death protein-1; ORR, overall response rate; CI, confidence interval; PFS, progression-free survival; OS, overall survival.