A phase II study of daily carboplatin plus irradiation followed by durvalumab therapy for older adults (≥75 years) with unresectable III non-small-cell lung cancer and performance status of 2: NEJ039A

BACKGROUND: Standard care for unresectable locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) involves chemoradiotherapy followed by durvalumab. The clinical significance of durvalumab after chemoradiotherapy in patients with LA-NSCLC having a performance status of 2 or aged ≥75 years, however, remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the clinical benefit of durvalumab after daily carboplatin plus thoracic concurrent radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ) was administered before radiotherapy for the first 20 fractions and concurrent radiotherapy (60 Gy) followed by durvalumab. The primary endpoint was 12 months progression-free survival (PFS) rate from durvalumab initiation. The secondary endpoints included rate of therapeutic completion, PFS, overall survival, objective response rate, and safety. RESULTS: Of 86 patients who underwent chemoradiotherapy with daily carboplatin from September 2019 to October 2021, 61 (70.9%) received durvalumab consolidation. The performance status was 0, 1, and 2 in 28 (45.9%), 26 (42.6%), and 7 (11.5%) patients, respectively. The rate of therapeutic completion for durvalumab was 26.2% (16/61). The PFS rate of 12 months after durvalumab initiation was 51.0%, indicating that the primary endpoint was achieved because the expected value of 35% calculated from previous studies was exceeded. The objective response rate after chemoradiotherapy and durvalumab was 47.0% and 57.4%, respectively. The median PFS and overall survival were 12.3 and 28.1 months, respectively. The most common adverse event in grades 3 or 4 was pneumonitis (8.2%). One patient died because of interstitial pneumonitis. CONCLUSIONS: Durvalumab consolidation after daily carboplatin with radiotherapy was effective and tolerable for LA-NSCLC vulnerable patients.