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Atezolizumab First-Line Combination Therapy: A Review in Metastatic Nonsquamous NSCLC

  • Adis Drug Evaluation
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Abstract

Atezolizumab (Tecentriq®), a humanized, anti-programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibody, in combination with bevacizumab, carboplatin and paclitaxel (ABCP) or with carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel (ACnP) has been approved as first-line treatment for metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC, based on results from the randomized IMpower150 and IMpower130 studies in chemotherapy-naïve patients with nonsquamous metastatic NSCLC. In IMpower150, ABCP prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) relative to BCP, regardless of EGFR or ALK status, liver metastases at baseline or PD-L1 expression levels. In IMpower130, ACnP prolonged PFS and OS relative to CnP in patients without EGFR or ALK genetic aberrations. ABCP and ACnP had manageable tolerability profiles, which were consistent with the profile of the individual components of the regimen. Immune-related adverse events with ABCP and ACnP were largely mild or moderate in severity, and most were reversible with interruption of atezolizumab and initiation of appropriate treatment. Current evidence indicates that ABCP and ACnP are valuable emerging first-line treatment options for metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC.

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process the manufacturer of atezolizumab was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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    Sohita Dhillon & Yahiya Y. Syed

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  1. Sohita Dhillon
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Correspondence to Yahiya Y. Syed.

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Funding

The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Conflict of interest

Sohita Dhillon and Yahiya Syed are salaried employees of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, are responsible for the article content and declare no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Enhanced material for this Adis Drug Evaluation can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9943745.

The manuscript was reviewed by: M. Cobo, Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Regional Universitario Málaga, IBIMA, Málaga, Spain; A. Morabito, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Thoraco-Pulmonary Department, Naples, Italy; J. Stebbing, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Department of Medical Oncology, London, UK.

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Dhillon, S., Syed, Y.Y. Atezolizumab First-Line Combination Therapy: A Review in Metastatic Nonsquamous NSCLC. Targ Oncol 14, 759–768 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11523-019-00686-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11523-019-00686-w

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