Dr. Reck on Safety Data From the CheckMate-9LA Trial in Metastatic/Recurrent NSCLC

Martin Reck, MD, PhD, head of the department of thoracic oncology at Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf, discusses ​safety data from the ​phase 3 CheckMate-9LA trial in metastatic or recurrent non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Findings from the study suggest that the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) plus 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy ​should be considered an option for this patient population.

However, it is an intensive regimen, says Reck. Moreover, treatment-emergent adverse effects (AEs) were observed more frequently with the experimental regimen compared with chemotherapy alone.

Treatment-related deaths occurred in 2% of patients in both arms.

Notably, the incidence of chemotherapy-related AEs including hematologic AEs was lower in the combination arm ​as patients received 2 ​cycles ​of chemotherapy versus 4, Reck concludes.