Modified-Dose Pembrolizumab and Prognostic Outcomes among Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Chart Review Study

Sheng-Yin To, Li-Ting Kao, Jui-Hu Shih, I-Hsun Li, Tsai-Wang Huang, Chen-Liang Tsai, Chih-Feng Chian, Ching-Liang Ho and Ping-Ying Chang
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Sheng-Yin To: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Li-Ting Kao: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Jui-Hu Shih: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
I-Hsun Li: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Tsai-Wang Huang: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Chen-Liang Tsai: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Chih-Feng Chian: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Ching-Liang Ho: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Ping-Ying Chang: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: The modified dose (MD) regimen of pembrolizumab (2 mg/kg or 100 mg every 3 weeks) is an alternative option to reduce the financial burden resulting from the extremely high cost of the standard dose (SD) regimen (200 mg every 3 weeks). However, the clinical effectiveness and prognostic outcomes have not been fully elucidated in real-word clinical practice. Sixty-four consecutive patients in Taiwan receiving pembrolizumab for advanced NSCLC between 2018 and 2020 were recruited in this study. Comparisons of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were performed using Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Additionally, 12 predictors, including pembrolizumab regimen, dose, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), age, sex, histopathology, smoking history, ECOG PS, EGFR mutation, PD-L1 expression, distant metastases and treatment line, were analyzed in multivariable Cox models for predicting OS and PFS. The results showed that the MD group and the SD group had similar OS and PFS, especially in patients beyond first-line treatment or with a pretreatment NLR < 5. The NLR was the only independent factor associated with both OS (adjusted HR = 0.052; p = 0.010) and PFS (adjusted HR = 0.259; p = 0.021). The results of this study assure the clinical effectiveness of MD pembrolizumab and suggest that the pretreatment NLR could highlight patients who may benefit from MD pembrolizumab.

Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer; pembrolizumab; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; low-dose; prognostic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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