Dr. Leal on the Utilization of PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitor Monotherapy in Lung Cancer

Ticiana Leal, MD, associate professor, director, Thoracic Medical Oncology Program, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology Emory University School of Medicine, discusses the utilization of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy in lung cancer.

Data from studies including the phase 3 KEYNOTE-024 trial (NCT02142738) and the phase 3 IMpower010 trial (NCT02486718), plus the cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo) data from the phase 3 EMPOWER-Lung 1 trial (NCT03088540), have demonstrated the effectiveness of using PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy in patients with high PD-L1 expression, Leal explains. In the EMPOWER-Lung 1 data, benefits were observed due to cutoffs for PD-L1 expression, unsurprisingly, Leal says.

Patients who have a PD-L1 expression greater than 50% are the ideal population for treatment with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy, Leal continues. Moreover, for patients with low symptom burden or low burden of metastatic disease and high PD-L1, monotherapy can lead to an improved quality of life, Leal concludes.