Combination of Sintilimab and Nab-Paclitaxel in Advanced Squamous NSCLC

By: Celeste L. Dixon
Posted: Monday, December 16, 2024

For patients with advanced squamous non–small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), a potential treatment option may be the monoclonal antibody sintilimab combined with nanoparticle albumin-bound nab-paclitaxel–based chemotherapy, according to the results of a real-world pilot retrospective analysis. The regimen was effective and well tolerated in a sample of 28 patients who began treatment in 2019. Huaqiong Huang, MD, PhD, of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, and colleagues reported their findings in the International Journal of Nanomedicine.

This study’s 28-patient cohort, all with unresectable stage III or IV squamous NSCLC, received first-line sintilimab plus nab-paclitaxel–based chemotherapy and was divided by performance status scores: 11 patients had a score of 2 (severe), and 17 had a score of 0 or 1 (nonsevere). Often, noted the team, patients with advanced lung cancer who have scores of 2 or higher are excluded from trials. Those in the severe group had a significantly higher incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared with the nonsevere group (54.5% vs 11.8%; P = .03).

The study’s primary endpoint was progression-free survival. The median values were 13.3 months for the severe group and 8.7 months for the nonsevere, which the team said were not statistically significantly different.

“Given the challenges of conducting prospective studies in this patient population, real-world evidence such as this study provide[s] valuable insights for clinical management… [of patients] with severe locally advanced or metastatic squamous NSCLC,” stated Dr. Huang and co-investigators. Patients received the treatment regimen every 3 weeks for a maximum of six cycles or until unacceptable toxicity occurred. Members of the severe and nonsevere groups had a similar median number of treatment cycles as well as similar rates of adverse events (a secondary endpoint).

Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.

International Journal of Nanomedicine