Sintilimab, stereotactic body radiotherapy and granulocyte–macrophage colony stimulating factor as second-line therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: safety run-in results of a multicenter, single-arm, phase II trial

OBJECTIVES: The SWORD trial is the first multicenter, single arm, phase II study assessing the safety and efficacy of a PD-1 inhibitor (Sintilimab), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and granulocyte–macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without sensitizing driver mutations. A safety run-in phase was conducted to determine the tolerability of the experimental treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty metastatic NSCLC patients who failed first-line chemotherapy were enrolled, and they received SBRT (8 Gy × 3) to one lesion, followed by Sintilimab (200 mg d1, every 3 weeks, until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or up to 35 cycles) and GM-CSF (125 μg/m(2) d1-d14, cycle 1) within 2 weeks after SBRT. In addition, blood and tissue samples were serially collected for translational research. RESULTS: Median age of the patients was 61 and all of them had more than 5 lesions at baseline. The sites of SBRT included lung (n = 11), mediastinal lymph node (n = 5), liver (n = 1), abdominal lymph node (n = 1), pleural nodule (n = 1) and vertebra (n = 1). No patients had dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and 18 patients experienced treatment-related adverse event (TRAE). The most common TRAEs were fatigue (50%), fever (30%), and ostealgia (20%), and they all were grade 1. Only 2 grade 3 TRAEs were observed, including elevation of liver enzymes in one and transient acute heart failure in another. No grade 4 or 5 AE was observed. CONCLUSION: Sintilimab, SBRT and GM-CSF for advanced NSCLC is safe with manageable TRAEs and the trial continues to recruit participants. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04106180. Registered 26 September 2019, SBRT in Combination With Sintilimab and GM-CSF for the Treatment of Advanced NSCLC-Tabular View-ClinicalTrials.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13014-021-01905-3.