Effectiveness and safety of camrelizumab in inoperable or advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients: a multicenter real-world retrospective observational study (CTONG2004-ADV)

BACKGROUND: Camrelizumab plus chemotherapy have been approved as standards for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients based on two phase III trials. However, clinical trial results may not be representative of the general population, as clinical trials often have specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Our research aims to investigate the real-world effectiveness and safety of camrelizumab in inoperable or advanced NSCLC patients. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective observational study included inoperable or advanced pathologically confirmed NSCLC patients who received at least one dose of camrelizumab at 22 hospitals. Clinical and follow-up data of camrelizumab were collected retrospectively from the medical records. The primary outcome was the objective response rate (ORR) and secondary outcomes were disease control rate (DCR), 6-month progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). Multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses were applied to identify potential predictive factors of ORR and PFS, respectively. RESULTS: Between July 2019 and March 2021, 336 patients were included. Adenocarcinoma was seen in 58.4% and stage IV disease in 69.3%. Twenty-nine (8.6%) had liver metastasis at baseline. Most patients received camrelizumab in the first-line setting (74.1%) and in combination with chemotherapy (60.7%). The ORR was 40.2% [95% confidence interval (CI): 34.9–45.6%] and DCR was 85.1% (95% CI: 81.3–88.9%), while the 6-month PFS and OS rates were 73.0% (95% CI: 67.1–78.0%) and 93.1% (95% CI: 89.8–95.4%), respectively. In multivariate analyses, liver metastasis [odds ratio (OR), 0.324; 95% CI: 0.115–0.915; P=0.033] and increasing lines of camrelizumab treatment (vs. first line, second line: OR, 0.347; 95% CI: 0.162–0.741; P=0.006; ≥ third line: OR, 0.126; 95% CI: 0.043–0.367; P<0.001) were negatively associated, while a longer duration of camrelizumab treatment was positively associated with ORR and PFS. TRAEs were recorded in 164 (48.8%) patients, without new safety signal. CONCLUSIONS: We conducted a comprehensive overview of the effectiveness and safety profile of camrelizumab in a broader NSCLC population in real world NSCLC patients, and subgroup analysis indicated the presence of liver metastasis was associated with worse outcomes.