Dr. Ramalingam on Avelumab Plus Lorlatinib in NSCLC

Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, deputy director, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, discusses the combination of avelumab (Bavencio) plus lorlatinib in patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The phase Ib JAVELIN Lung 101 study (NCT02584634) is currently evaluating the combination of the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab with crizotinib (Xalkori) or lorlatinib in patients with previously treated advanced NSCLC. Lorlatinib is a next-generation ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that has demonstrated impressive central nervous system activity, says Ramalingam. In this study, the combination of avelumab and lorlatinib was given to patients who were ALK-positive.

Results showed that the combination of avelumab and lorlatinib was very well tolerated, with no grade 3/4 or dose-limiting toxicities. Ramalingam says this is in stark contrast to what has been seen thus far with combinations of PD-1 inhibitors and TKIs in NSCLC. Additionally, a response rate of 46% was observed, suggesting that this combination is effective in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC. Ramalingam says that these results warrant further investigation of the combination.