Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41104445›Full record

ArticleImmunotherapy2025

5-year real-world outcomes with first-line pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in advanced/metastatic NSCLC.

Stephen V Liu, Riddhi A Babel, Yu-Han Kao, Diana Chirovsky, Azadeh Namakydoust, Vamsidhar Velcheti

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Immunotherapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Stephen V LiuDepartment of Medical Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4852-3914
Riddhi A BabelValue & Implementation Outcomes Research, Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3543-7160
Yu-Han KaoBiostatistics and Research Decision Sciences (BARDS), Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2416-4395
Diana ChirovskyValue & Implementation Outcomes Research, Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1641-1990
Azadeh NamakydoustOncology Clinical Development, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5252-5648
Vamsidhar VelchetiPerlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6589-0759

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFirst-line pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy has demonstrated durable, clinically meaningful survival benefits over 5 years, compared with chemotherapy alone, in pivotal clinical trials for patients with metastatic NSCLC. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate 5-year real-world outcomes with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy at US oncology practices.

methodsUsing a nationwide, deidentified database, we selected adults with unresectable stage IIIB/IIIC/IV NSCLC and ECOG performance status of 0-1, excluding those in a clinical trial, who initiated first-line pembrolizumab plus platinum/pemetrexed from 1 June 2017 through 30 September 2021 (

resultsMedian study follow-up was 60 months. Median (95% CI) OS was 15.0 months (13.4-16.0) and 12.9 months (10.3-17.1) among 1960 patients with nonsquamous and 433 with squamous NSCLC, respectively. At 5 years, OS rates were 21.6% and 18.2%, respectively, with 5-year OS rates by tumor PD-L1 < 1%/1-49%/≥50% expression of 15.8%/19.8%/32.6% in nonsquamous and 15.2%/14.1%/32.6% in squamous cohorts.

conclusionsFirst-line pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy demonstrates long-term effectiveness for nonsquamous and squamous advanced/metastatic NSCLC, with 5-year OS rates in real-world settings that are consistent across PD-L1 expression strata with 5-year outcomes from the pivotal clinical trials.

Indexed as

Antibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungLung NeoplasmsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overB7-H1 AntigenCarboplatinFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisPaclitaxelPemetrexedAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedB7-H1 AntigenCarboplatinPaclitaxelpembrolizumabPemetrexedAdvanced non-small cell lung cancerimmunotherapyoverall survivalplatinum-based chemotherapyreal-world time on treatmenttaxanetime to treatment discontinuation

Identifiers

PMID41104445
PMCPMC12582088

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.