Dr. Bordoni on the Utility of Adjuvant Atezolizumab in the Adjuvant Setting in NSCLC

Rodolfo Bordoni, MD, medical oncologist, director of clinical research, leader, Phase I Clinical Trials Program, Georgia Cancer Specialists, discusses the utility of ​atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in the adjuvant setting in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Atezolizumab demonstrated efficacy when used as adjuvant therapy for patients with NSCLC who underwent resection and platinum-based chemotherapy, Bordoni says. However, this is only the case when patients have PD-L1–positive disease on at least 1% of tumor cells; PD-L1–negative patients did not respond to adjuvant atezolizumab, Bordoni explains. 

Moreover, on October 15, 2021, the FDA approved adjuvant atezolizumab for patients with stage II to IIIA NSCLC following resection and platinum-based chemotherapy whose tumors have PD-L1 expression on at least 1% of tumors cells, as determined by an FDA-approved test. 

Moreover, the role of adjuvant therapy is an area that needs additional research, Bordoni continues. Several clinical trials are being conducted evaluating immunotherapy alone or in combination regimens, and these data are highly anticipated, Bordoni concludes.