Dr. Feldman on the Future of Durvalumab and Tremilimumab in NSCLC

Lawrence E. Feldman, MD, medical oncologist, University of Illinois Cancer Center, discusses the future of durvalumab (Imfinzi) and tremelimumab in non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

In 2016, promising activity was published in The Lancet Oncology on the combination of durvalumab and tremelimumab, explains Feldman. The phase Ib trial enrolled 102 patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who had not been exposed to immunotherapy. There was no limit on prior lines of therapy. Of 63 evaluable patients, 11 had objective responses and 18 achieved disease control by week 24.

In July 2017, the combination of durvalumab and tremelimumab failed to improve progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with stage IV metastatic NSCLC versus standard platinum-based chemotherapy in the MYSTIC trial. Though the trial failed to meet the primary endpoint of improving PFS versus standard of care in patients with ≥ 25% PD-L1 expression, the trial was also designed to assess overall survival, results of which are anticipated later this year, says Feldman.