WCLC 2017: Quality of Life of Patients With NSCLC Treated With Durvalumab
Posted: Thursday, October 19, 2017
When used after concurrent chemoradiation, immunotherapy with durvalumab improved progression-free survival in patients with locally advanced, unresectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) while upholding quality-of-life measures. Patient-reported outcomes from the phase III PACIFIC trial were featured in a plenary session presented by Rina Hui, MB, BS, PhD, FRACP, of the University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital in Australia, at the 2017 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference on Lung Cancer (Abstract PL 02.02) in Yokohama, Japan.
“This study offers hope for improved patient outcomes without compromising quality of life by the treatment,” announced Dr. Hui in an IASLC press release.
Previous studies have shown the clinical efficacy of durvalumab in patients who had received prior platinum-based concurrent chemotherapy with definitive-dose radiation without disease progression. In reportedly the first randomized, global, blinded assessment of patient-reported outcomes with durvalumab treatment for up to 12 months in this patient population, Dr. Hui and colleagues focused on evaluation of symptoms, function, and global health status via patient questionnaires completed several times during treatment.
Patients treated with durvalumab did not experience worsening in symptoms such as dyspnea, cough, chest pain, fatigue, and appetite loss; function, or health-related quality of life. In patients treated with durvalumab and those given placebo, clinically relevant improvements from baseline were noted for dysphagia and alopecia.
