Abstract discussant Noemí Reguart, MD, PhD, an oncologist at the Hospital Clinic Barcelona, underscored the “impressive” progression-free and overall survival results of the phase III ETER701 trial, which have “never been achieved before in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.”

Noemí Reguart, MD, PhD

According to Dr. Reguart, a clear separation of the survival curves was seen at 12 months, with a “striking” 64.1% of patients randomly assigned to anlotinib and benmelstobart plus chemotherapy alive at 1 year compared with 49% of patients who received chemotherapy alone. However, Dr. Reguart noted, trial data are still immature, with a median follow-up of just 14 months.

“Less than 50% of survival events have been reached, which might increase the risk of error when projecting long-term outcomes,” stated Dr. Reguart. She also mentioned the “surprisingly low screening failures (27%)” and the quick recruitment, which she considers important for a trial that involves treating patients with central and invasive tumors with antiangiogenic therapy.

“Although the study uses immature data and has a short follow-up period, the results are promising,” Dr. Reguart concluded. “Serious adverse events increase by 10% when we are adding a third treatment to our patients, and yet the trial improves patient outcomes and supports the use of this regimen in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, particularly in China.” 

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Reguart reported financial relationships with Roche, Takeda, Sanofi, Merck, Novartis, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Bayer, and Bristol Myers Squibb.