Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41395281›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of cancer research2025

Efficacy of continuing pembrolizumab after progression on first-line treatment in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer: a prospective real-world study.

Kexin Ruan, Xiaodong Lv, Xiaoyu Wu, Jingjing Shao, Peifeng Chen, Debin Sun, Yaodong Tang, Bin Wang, Yongmin Ding, Zhiqiang Han and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of cancer research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

17 authors.

Kexin RuanDepartment of Respiratory Disease, Thoracic Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang, China.
Xiaodong LvDepartment of Respiratory, The First Hospital of Jiaxing (The Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University) Jiaxing 314000, Zhejiang, China.
Xiaoyu WuZhe Jiang Jin Hua Guang Fu Tumor Hospital Jinhua 321000, Zhejiang, China.
Jingjing ShaoDepartment of Respiratory Disease, Thoracic Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang, China.
Peifeng ChenDepartment of Respiratory, People's Hospital of Zhuji Zhuji 311800, Zhejiang, China.
Debin SunDepartment of Respiratory, Lishui Central Hospital Lishui 323000, Zhejiang, China.
Yaodong TangDepartment of Respiratory, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang, China.
Bin WangDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang, China.
Yongmin DingDepartment of Respiratory, People's Hospital of Shengzhou Shengzhou 312400, Zhejiang, China.
Zhiqiang HanDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, People's Hospital of Quzhou Quzhou 324000, Zhejiang, China.
Weina HuangDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, PCCM, Ningbo First Hospital Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang, China.
Dan WuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Cixi People's Hospital Cixi 315300, Zhejiang, China.
Youzu XuDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University Linhai 317000, Zhejiang, China.
Jing ZhengDepartment of Respiratory Disease, Thoracic Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang, China.
Jingjing QuDepartment of Respiratory Disease, Thoracic Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang, China.
Jianya ZhouDepartment of Respiratory Disease, Thoracic Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang, China.
Jianying ZhouDepartment of Respiratory Disease, Thoracic Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This prospective observational study investigated the efficacy of pembrolizumab administered as first-line therapy and the survival outcomes of continuing or combining it with other agents after disease progression in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A total of 63 patients who experienced disease progression following pembrolizumab-based first-line treatment between February 2019 and July 2024 were prospectively enrolled. Patients were randomized into two cohorts based on treatment strategy: a treated beyond progression (TBP) group (n = 39) to receive continued pembrolizumab monotherapy or pembrolizumab-based combination regimens after disease progression, and a non-TBP (NTBP) group (n = 24), which discontinued pembrolizumab upon progression. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR). The median PFS during first-line therapy (mPFS1) was 6.97 months. In the TBP group, the median PFS from first-line initiation to progression after second-line therapy (mPFS2) was 17.6 months, with an ORR of 20.5% and a DCR of 74.4%. OS in the TBP group was significantly longer than that in NTBP group (29.4 vs. 12.4 months, P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified continued pembrolizumab use and favorable ECOG performance status as independent predictors of prolonged OS. These findings suggest that continued pembrolizumab use or combination therapy after disease progression significantly enhances survival benefits in advanced NSCLC, underscoring the importance of individualized treatment strategies based on clinical characteristics and treatment response.

Indexed as

first-line treatmentNon-small cell lung cancerpembrolizumabtreated beyond progressiontreatment efficacy evaluation

Identifiers

PMID41395281
PMCPMC12696522

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.