Dr. Pecot on Immunotherapy Combinations in NSCLC

Chad Pecot, MD, assistant professor, School of Medicine, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses promising combinations for patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

IDO inhibitors plus nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) are viable combinations for patients with NSCLC. Both of these combinations were presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting. Response rates ranged from 40% to 50%. These were higher than historical rates without any added toxicities. This increases the likelihood of more combinations that could potentially increase response rates further, says Pecot.

A large phase I trial has been expanded to look at the combination of ipilimumab plus nivolumab. Bristol-Myers Squibb publicly announced that the trial was a success, but physicians are waiting on the most recent data. It seems that decreasing the dose of ipilimumab and spreading out how often it is given improves response compared with single-agent therapy, Pecot says.