Dr. Socinski on Nivolumab in NSCLC

Mark A. Socinski, MD, professor of Medicine and Cardiothoracic Surgery, director, Lung Cancer Section, Division of Hematology/Oncology, clinical associate director, Lung SPORE, co-director, UPMC Lung Cancer Center of Excellence, co-leader, UPCI Lung Cancer Program, discusses a phase III study which examined nivolumab in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The randomized Checkmate-057 trial examined patients in the second-line setting of advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer. Patients were randomized to docetaxel at the approved dosage or nivolumab bi-weekly. The primary endpoint was overall survival. The trial ended early due to demonstrated superiority for nivolumab over docetaxel, with a three-month difference in median survival and a statistically significant hazard ratio. The study also showed a benefit in response rate.

Socinski says there was no advantage in PFS between the two arms. In the median PFS, docetaxel was favored over nivolumab. However, the one-year PFS rate was twice favorable for nivolumab compared to docetaxel.

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