On 16 August 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Inc.) for patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with progression after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other line of therapy.
Approval was based on demonstration of a durable overall response rate (ORR) in a subgroup of patients from CheckMate-032 (NCT01928394), a multicentre, open-label trial in patients with metastatic solid tumours. This subgroup comprised 109 patients with metastatic SCLC, with disease progression after platinum-based therapy and at least one other prior line of therapy, regardless of tumour PD-L1 status. All patients received nivolumab 3 mg/kg by intravenous infusion over 60 minutes every 2 weeks.
The major efficacy outcome measures were ORR and duration of response according to RECIST v1.1 as assessed by blinded independent central review. The ORR was 12% (95% CI: 6.5, 19.5). Responses were durable for 6 months or longer in 77%, 12 months or longer in 62%, and 18 months or longer in 39% of the 13 responding patients. PD-L1 tumour status did not appear to be predictive of response.
Safety data was evaluated in 245 patients with metastatic SCLC with disease progression following platinum-based chemotherapy and received at least one dose of nivolumab at a dose of 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks. The most common (≥20%) adverse reactions in CheckMate-032 were fatigue, decreased appetite, musculoskeletal pain, dyspnoea, nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and cough. Nivolumab was discontinued for adverse reactions in 10% of patients and 25% of patients had at least one dose withheld for an adverse reaction. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 45% of patients. The most frequent (≥2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, dyspnoea, pneumonitis, pleural effusion, and dehydration.
The recommended dose and schedule of nivolumab for this indication is 240 mg every 2 weeks over 30 min.
Full prescribing information is available here.
This application was granted Priority Review.