ArticleThoracic cancer2020
Poor efficacy of anti-programmed cell death-1/ligand 1 monotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer patients with active brain metastases.
Article in Thoracic cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors +/- Chemotherapy for Patients With NSCLC and Brain Metastases: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Thoracic cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Anti-PD-1 plus anti-CTLA-4 blockade overcomes immune exclusion in NSCLC brain metastases by enhancing CD8Nature communications · 2026Article
- Impact of baseline brain metastases on survival and CNS progression in NSCLC patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors in real-world studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational lung cancer research · 2026Article
- First-Line Immune-Combination Therapy for Driver Gene-Negative NSCLC With Brain Metastases: Real-World Outcomes.Thoracic cancer · 2025Article
- Observational
- Article
- Immunotherapy With Radiotherapy for Brain Metastases in Patients With NSCLC: NEJ060.JTO clinical and research reports · 2024Article
- Efficacy of different therapies for brain metastases of non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational lung cancer research · 2023Article
- Navigate Towards the Immunotherapy Era: Value of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients With Brain Metastases.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Development of Two Diagnostic Prediction Models for Leptomeningeal Metastasis in Patients With Solid Tumors.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Article
- Efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and brain metastases: A real-world retrospective study in China.Thoracic cancer · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe efficacy of anti-programmed cell death-1/ligand 1 antibody monotherapy (anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy) in patients with active brain metastases (BMs) is not established. Here, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with active BMs.
methodsThis retrospective study included NSCLC patients treated with second-line or later-line anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy between December 2015 and August 2019. Patients were classified into those with or without active BMs, including symptomatic BMs requiring systemic steroids and untreated BMs. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the patients with and without active BMs were compared. Intracranial and extracranial tumor responses were evaluated in patients with active BMs.
resultsWe analyzed 197 patients who had received anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy. Among them, 24 had active BMs. Among those without active BMs, 145 had no BMs and 28 had treated asymptomatic BMs. The PFS and OS of patients with active BMs were significantly shorter than those of patients without active BMs (1.3 vs. 2.7 months; P < 0.001, and 4.5 vs. 16.3 months; P = 0.001 respectively). For patients with active BMs, the intracranial and extracranial response rates were 13.3% and 26.7%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, active BMs, poor performance status (PS), and EGFR/ALK positivity were significant factors associated with shorter PFS. Active BMs and poor PS were significant factors associated with shorter OS.
conclusionsThis study suggested that anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy was not effective for NSCLC patients with active BMs. Further studies on immunotherapy are needed for patients with active BMs. KEY POINTS: Significant findings of the study: The present study showed that anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody monotherapy was not effective for non-small cell lung cancer patients with active brain metastases. Intracranial and extracranial response rates were 13.3% and 26.7%, respectively. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Further studies on immunotherapy are needed for patients with active BMs.
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