Nobuyuki Yamamoto | Search PubMed

PubMed2026

Sequential Immune Activation of Effector T Cells as Biomarkers of Response to Durvalumab in Patients with Locally Advanced NSCLC.

PURPOSE: Durvalumab therapy following concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. In this prospective observational study, we evaluated the changes in peripheral blood immune cell counts to elucidate the immunologic mechanisms underlying cCRT and durvalumab therapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples were collected at four time points: before cCRT, after cCRT, at the start of durvalumab, and 8 weeks after the start of durvalumab, and analyzed by multicolor flow cytometry. RESULTS: Of the 149 enrolled patients, 115 received durvalumab consolidation therapy after cCRT. The median PFS in the overall population was 24.2 months, and the 3-year PFS rate was 38.9%. PBMC analysis showed an increased effector fraction of CD4+ T cells before and after cCRT but no change in CD8+ T cells. Following durvalumab therapy, the effector fraction ratio of CD8+ T cells (CD62Llow CD8+ T cells) increased and positively correlated with increased CD62Llow CD4+ T cells during cCRT. Patients whose proportion of CD62Llow CD4+ T cells exceeded the threshold for cCRT had better PFS than those below the threshold. Patients whose CD62Llow CD8+ T-cell proportion exceeded the threshold after durvalumab therapy showed prolonged PFS compared with those below the threshold. CONCLUSIONS: cCRT promotes an increase in effector CD4+ T cells, and the subsequent increase in CD8+ T cells following durvalumab therapy prolongs PFS. Peripheral blood effector-type CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are potential biomarkers for evaluating the immune status of patients and predicting treatment efficacy.

Humans↗

PubMed2025

A Single-Arm Phase 2 Study of Sotorasib Plus Carboplatin and Pemetrexed in Patients With Advanced Nonsquamous NSCLC With KRAS G12C Mutation (WJOG14821L, SCARLET).

INTRODUCTION: The efficacy and safety of sotorasib plus platinum doublet chemotherapy in KRAS G12C-mutated nonsquamous NSCLC (nonsq NSCLC) have been previously reported with a limited follow-up period. METHODS: SCARLET is a single-arm phase 2 study involving chemotherapy-naive patients with KRAS G12C-mutated nonsq NSCLC. The participants received 960 mg daily plus four cycles of carboplatin (area under the curve = 5)/pemetrexed 500 mg/m2, followed by sotorasib/pemetrexed until disease progression. The primary end point was the overall response rate (ORR) and the secondary end points were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and safety. Using plasma samples, next-generation sequencing was performed at baseline, 3 weeks, and during disease progression (the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials number 2051210086). RESULTS: Thirty patients were enrolled between October 2021 and July 2022 with a median follow-up of 14.8 months. ORR was 88.9% (80% confidence interval [CI]: 78.5%-94.8%, 95% CI: 70.8%-97.6%), median PFS was 6.6 months (95% CI: 5.3-16.7 mo), and median overall survival was 20.6 months (95% CI: 8.1 mo-not estimated). Among patients with programmed death-ligand 1 expression levels of 1% or higher and less than 1%, the ORRs were 82.3 and 100%, respectively, and the median PFS was 7.6 and 9.7 months, respectively. Using plasma samples, patients without KRAS G12C at baseline, without KRAS-related pathway co-alterations, or who cleared KRAS G12C at 3 weeks had better median PFS (16.7, 13.9, 8.7 mo, respectively). Tumor protein 53 mutations and EGFR and MET amplification were detected as acquired resistance. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with KRAS G12C-mutated nonsq NSCLC, sotorasib plus carboplatin/pemetrexed reported favorable efficacy, particularly for patients with less than 1% programmed death-ligand 1, with manageable toxicity.

Humans↗