Continuous vs. Fixed 2-year Duration Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Single Institution Database Analysis

Abstract

Introduction/background: The proper duration of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. Previously, sponsor-initiated clinical trials have more often used either a maximum 2-year fixed duration of ICI treatment or continuous treatment until documented disease progression. The study aimed to evaluate the association between ICI treatment duration (2-year fixed or continuous) and prognosis in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Patients and methods: The medical records of 425 patients with NSCLC who received ICI before August 31, 2019 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: No differences in time to treatment failure > 24 months (TTF-24) were detected between patients who underwent ICI treatment for > 2 years and patients who stopped ICI treatment at 2 years. Treatment-related adverse events tended to be higher in the patients with ICI treatment > 2 years.

Conclusion: ICI treatment > 2 years did not significantly prolong the TTF compared with ICI treatment = 2 years, but it did increase the incidence of treatment-related adverse events.

Keywords: Immune-related adverse events; Optimal ICI treatment duration; Patient survival; Treatment duration time to treatment failure; Treatment-related adverse events.