ASCO 2022: Eftilagimod Alpha Plus Pembrolizumab in NSCLC

By: Kayci Reyer
Posted: Monday, June 27, 2022

Findings from the extended first-line non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cohort of the phase II TACTI-002 trial, presented at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 9003), showed that the combination of eftilagimod alpha plus the PD-L1 inhibitor pembrolizumab was safe and active in patients with NSCLC who were unselected for PD-L1. Enriqueta Felip, MD, PhD, of Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, and colleagues noted that the LAG-3 protein may trigger more robust antitumor responses through the activation of T cells.

Between March 2019 and November 2021, the study enrolled 114 patients with metastatic NSCLC, 74% of whom were men. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was 0 in 37% of patients and 1 in 63% of patients. A total of 88% had stage IV disease at the time of enrollment; squamous (35%) and nonsquamous (62%) disease was represented, along with every PD-L1 subgroup.

At the time of data cutoff in January 2022, the overall response rate was 37.3% among all patients and 41.8% among evaluable patients (n = 75). The disease control rate was 73.3%. Among patients with squamous versus nonsquamous disease, the response rate was 33.3% versus 40.3%, respectively. Responses were achieved across all PD-L1 subgroups. A total of 86% of responses were confirmed, and the median duration of response was not yet reached.

Dyspnea (33%), asthenia (30%), decreased appetite (22%), cough (20%), and anemia (20%) were among the most commonly occurring adverse events with the combination therapy. Overall, 19 patients (17%) discontinued treatment because of adverse events.

Patients received 30 mg of subcutaneous eftilagimod alpha every 2 weeks for eight 3-week cycles, then every 3 weeks for up to 1 year plus 200 mg of intravenous pembrolizumab every 3 weeks for up to 2 years. The median number of administrations was six for pembrolizumab and seven for eftilagimod alpha.

Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.

2022 ASCO Annual Meeting

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