A recent clinical trial showed that the drug combination of cemiplimab plus platinum chemotherapy can delay survival in patients with advanced lung cancer in comparison with placebo plus platinum chemotherapy. Now an evaluation published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, indicates that cemiplimab plus platinum chemotherapy also affects quality of life in comparison with chemotherapy alone.  

The multinational phase 3 EMPOWER-Lung 3 trial had shown that the addition of cemiplimab to platinum-based chemotherapy was related to improved survival in patients with advanced stage non–small cell lung cancer in comparison with chemotherapy alone. Because quality of life can also be a crucial parameter for treatment profit, investigators examined how cemiplimab plus platinum affected symptoms compared to chemotherapy alone for patients enrolled into this trial using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13 questionnaires.  

Patients who received cemiplimab plus chemotherapy experienced significant improvements in pain, dyspnea, constipation, nausea, and vomiting in comparison with those that received placebo plus chemotherapy. Patients enrolled within the cemiplimab arm also had a big delay within the clinically meaningful deterioration of symptoms including cough, hemoptysis, and dysphagia.  

The findings support the concept that the superior efficacy and favorable safety profile of cemiplimab plus chemotherapy translate to higher patient-reported outcomes compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer.”

Tamta Makharadze, MD, Corresponding Writer, LTD High Technology Hospital Med Center in Batumi, Georgia

Source:

Journal reference:

Makharadze, T., et al. (2023). Quality of life with cemiplimab plus chemotherapy for first‐line treatment of advanced non–small cell lung cancer: Patient‐reported outcomes from phase 3 EMPOWER‐Lung 3. Cancer. doi.org/10.1002/cncr.34687.