Dr. Johnson on the Effect of the IPSOS Trial on Treatment in Platinum-Ineligible NSCLC

Melissa L. Johnson, MD, program director of Lung Cancer Research, lead of the Solid Tumor Immune Effector Cellular Therapy Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the paradigm-shifting results of the phase 3 IPSOS trial (NCT03191786) of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in patients with metastatic non­–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Historically, clinicians have attempted to conclusively demonstrate the superiority of platinum-based doublet therapy to single-agent chemotherapy and establish this regimen as the standard of care in all patients with NSCLC irrespective of age and performance status, Johnson states.

The IPSOS trial identified an unmet need for patients with NSCLC who are not eligible to receive platinum-based combination regimens due to pre-existing or treatment-related comorbidities, Johnson continues. The trial aimed to address the lack of treatment alternatives to platinum therapy by evaluating the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in treatment-naïve patients with locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic NSCLC.

Patients were randomly assigned to single-agent atezolizumab vs treatment with standard vinorelbine or gemcitabine. Results demonstrated an improvement in overall survival in patients receiving atezolizumab, suggesting that anti–PD-L1 immunotherapies are preferable to platinum-based doublet chemotherapy in this patient population, Johnson concludes.