Imfinzi and tremelimumab with chemotherapy demonstrated sustained survival benefit in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, nearly doubling the number of patients alive after three years vs. chemotherapy

Additional post-hoc, exploratory analyses continued to show a trend for OS improvement with this combination in patients with STK11, KEAP1 and KRAS-mutated NSCLC, as well as in patients whose tumours were PD-L1-negative (less than 1% tumour cell expression).These late-breaking results were presented today at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022 (Abstract #LBA59).

KRAS mutations are the most common tumour growth driver in NSCLC, occurring in approximately 25% of patients. NSCLC tumours with STK11 and KEAP1 mutations are often associated with poor outcomes and classified as immunologically “cold.” KRAS-mutated NSCLC can be responsive to immunotherapy but also can have poor outcomes, particularly when associated with STK11 or KEAP1 co-mutations.

Melissa Johnson, MD, Director of Lung Cancer Research, Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville, Tennessee, and a lead investigator in the POSEIDON Phase III trial, said: "Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer is a devastating diagnosis, particularly for patients whose cancers are less responsive to standard treatments such as chemotherapy and immune therapy. These results support the addition of a limited course of tremelimumab to durvalumab plus chemotherapy as a potential new treatment option for patients with these harder-to-treat forms of lung cancer.”