Nivolumab is a human IgG4 programmed death (PD)-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor antibody, which is approved in Israel for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is also administered to individuals with disease progression during or after platinum-based chemotherapy, without a need to determine the level of PD-L1 expression in the tumor. The present study aimed to evaluate the survival and efficacy of Nivolumab treatment. A retrospective analysis was performed at a thoracic oncology service in a tertiary referral center (Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center), on patients with NSCLC (squamous and non-squamous). All patients were treated with Nivolumab 3 mg/kg, administered intravenously every 2 weeks as part of a compassionate use program. The survival data was analyzed after 22 months. The overall survival (OS) was 34.9%, while the progression free survival (PFS) was 19.3%. The median PFS from the first dose of Nivolumab to treatment discontinuation was 4 months. A response assessment was performed in the 62 patients who received at least four cycles of Nivolumab, out of the 77 patient cohort. There was a complete response in 1 patient, a partial response in 11 patients, stable disease in 25 patients and progressive disease in 25 patients. The observed response rate of Nivolumab as a service treatment in unselected patients with unknown PD-L1 status NSCLC was 19%. The disease control rate was 60%. In the present study Nivolumab was given to a cohort of patients representing those seen in daily clinical practice, as opposed to a clinical trial setting. Survival and efficacy results strongly support the continued use of Nivolumab as a treatment for NSCLC.
Keywords: immunotherapy; nivolumab; non-small cell lung cancer; real-life data.