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

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

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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.