Multicenter phase 2 trial of first-line durvalumab plus carboplatin and etoposide for ES-SCLC in patients with poor performance status

Treating patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) with poor performance status poses considerable challenges. The phase 2 NEJ045A trial by the North East Japan Study Group evaluated the first-line combination of durvalumab plus carboplatin and etoposide as induction, followed by durvalumab maintenance, in ES-SCLC patients with performance status 2 or 3. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 93% of patients, and 21% discontinued due to adverse events. One-year survival rates were 50.0% (80% CI 39.1-60.0) among patients with performance status 2 and 18.2% (5.0-41.5) among patients with performance status 3. The authors conclude that the combination was tolerated and had promising efficacy.