Metastatic site as a predictor of nivolumab efficacy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A retrospective multicenter trial.

Purpose: To conduct a retrospective multicenter trial to determine the significance of metastatic site as a predictor of nivolumab efficacy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: This study was conducted across three medical centers in Japan. We retrospectively reviewed all patients who commenced nivolumab treatment at these centers between December 17, 2015 and July 31, 2016. Clinical data were collected, including age, sex, smoking status, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and metastatic site (lymph nodes, liver, brain, bone, lungs [intrapulmonary metastasis], and malignant pleural effusion) at the time of commencing nivolumab treatment. Patients were followed-up until March 31, 2017.

Results: Two hundred and one patients were enrolled. The median age at the time of commencing nivolumab treatment was 68 (range, 27-87) years. One hundred and thirty-five patients were male, 157 patients had a history of smoking, 153 patients had a performance status of 0-1, and 42 patients had squamous cell carcinoma. The median progression-free survival of all patients was 2.5 months. In the univariate analysis, a performance status of ≥2 (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.89, 95.0% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33-2.69; p < 0.001) and liver (HR: 2.09, 95.0% CI: 1.35-3.25; p < 0.001) and lung (HR: 1.57, 95.0% CI: 1.14-2.16; p < 0.01) metastases correlated with a significantly shorter progression-free survival in nivolumab-treated patients. In the multivariate analysis, a performance status of ≥2 (HR: 1.54, 95.0% CI: 1.05-2.25; p < 0.05) and liver (HR: 1.90, 95.0% CI: 1.21-2.98; p < 0.01) and lung (HR: 1.41, 95.0% CI: 1.00-1.99; p < 0.05) metastases were independently correlated with a significantly shorter progression-free survival in nivolumab-treated patients.

Conclusion: Liver and lung metastases and a poor performance status are independent predictors of nivolumab efficacy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.