PD-1 inhibitors-based second-line therapy for metastatic gastric cancer

Background: Metastatic gastric cancer (MGC) patients with progression on first-line treatment still have poor outcomes on chemotherapy. The KEYNOTE-061 study demonstrated that pembrolizumab, a PD-1inhibitor, was not better than paclitaxel as second-line therapy for MGC. Herein, we explored the efficacy and safety of PD-1inhibitor based treatment for MGC patients in the second line.

Methods: In this observational, retrospective study, we enrolled MGC patients treated with anti-PD-1 based therapy as second-line in our hospital. We primarily assessed the treatment's efficacy and safety. We also evaluated the relationship between clinical features and outcomes using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results: We enrolled 129 patients with an objective response rate (ORR) of 16.3% and a disease control rate (DCR) of 79.1%. Patients treated with PD-1inhibitor combined with chemotherapy and anti-angiogenic agents had ORR of 19.6% and higher DCR of 94.1%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.10 months, and the median overall survival (OS) was 7.60 months. In univariate analysis, patients treated with PD-1inhibitor combined with chemotherapy and anti-angiogenic agents and with prior anti-PD-1 history were significantly associated with favorable PFS and OS. In the multivariate analysis, different combination therapy and prior anti-PD-1 history were independent prognosis biomarkers for PFS and OS. Grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 28 (21.7%) patients. Common adverse events (AEs) included fatigue, hyper/hypothyroidism, neutrophil decrease, anemia, skin reactions, proteinuria, and hypertension. We did not observe treatment-related deaths.

Conclusion: Our current results indicated that PD-1-inhibitor and chemo-anti-angiogenic agents combination therapy and prior PD-1 treatment history might improve clinical activity for GC immunotherapy as second-line treatment with acceptable safety profiles. Further studies are needed to verify those outcomes for MGC in other centers.