Dr. Nebhan on the Efficacy of Checkpoint Inhibitors in Older Patients With Cancer

Caroline Nebhan, MD, PhD, clinical fellow, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in older patients with cancer.

During the 2021 SITC Annual Meeting, findings from a multicenter, international cohort study evaluating the efficacy and toxicity of single-agent checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer aged 80 years or older were presented in a virtual poster.

The efficacy analysis evaluated patients with the 3 most common tumor types represented in the study: non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma, and genitourinary (GU) tumors, Nebhan says. The results of the study demonstrated that the objective response rate was 32.2% in patients with NSCLC, 39.3% in patients with melanoma, and 26.2% in patients with GU tumors. The median progression-free survival was 6.7 months, 11.1 months, and 6 months, respectively.

Ultimately, these findings demonstrated that older patients with NSCLC, melanoma, or GU tumors can derive a substantial response with single-agent checkpoint inhibitors, Nebhan concludes.