Antonio Passaro, MD, PhD

Invited discussant Antonio Passaro, MD, PhD, of the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, underscored the significant results of the landmark CheckMate 816 trial, which he said, “established a new treatment paradigm for resectable NSCLC [non–small cell lung cancer].” In addition to the 14% improvement in event-free survival at 3 years, Dr. Passaro emphasized the results of CheckMate 816 were consistent across all subgroups. He also highlighted the need for a more personalized approach in the perioperative setting.

“In my opinion, we need to move beyond a one-size-fits-all strategy for this patient population,” he said. “A more individualized strategy may be necessary for patients, particularly those with PD-L1–negative disease, where the benefits of the combination of chemotherapy and nivolumab may be less marked.”

“However, the pathologic complete response benefit is very strong, regardless of PD-L1 expression, and these data were confirmed by the presentation of the four-gene signature [findings],” Dr. Passaro added. Finally, he noted the importance of understanding the effectiveness of the combination according to biomarkers and the impact of event-free survival and pathologic complete response on overall survival. 

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Passaro reported financial relationships with AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Merck Serono, Pfizer, Roche/Genentech, Mundipharma, Daiichi Sankyo, ecancer, Medscape, and Takeda.