VJVirtual | Cemiplimab efficacy by PD-L1 expression in the EMPOWER-Lung 1 trial of NSCLC

The Phase III EMPOWER-Lung 1 trial (NCT03088540) investigated the efficacy of cemiplimab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, compared to platinum doublet chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and PD-L1 expression levels above 50%. Saadettin Kiliçkap, MD, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey, discusses an exploratory analysis of the EMPOWER-Lung 1 trial, assessing the clinical significance of PD-L1 expression levels in a randomized sub-population. The study found that cemiplimab treatment resulted in significantly better overall survival, progression-free survival and overall response rates compared to treatment with chemotherapy. Additionally, incremental benefits were seen with increasing PD-L1 expression in the cemiplimab arm but not the chemotherapy arm. This interview took place during the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) virtual meeting 2021.