Camrelizumab plus chemotherapy in advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer: Treatment response, survival pattern, and safety

What is known and objective Camrelizumab, a humanized monoclonal programmed cell death protein-1 antibody independently developed by China, is introduced as a treatment selection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab plus chemotherapy in treating advanced non-squamous NSCLC patients. Methods This study retrospectively analysed 31 driver-gene-negative advanced non-squamous NSCLC patients who received a 21-day therapy cycle for four cycles of camrelizumab (intravenous injection, 200 mg/cycle) plus carboplatin and pemetrexed (CP) chemotherapy, followed by maintenance therapy using camrelizumab or pemetrexed or camrelizumab plus pemetrexed. Another 40 patients who underwent CP chemotherapy were retrieved as control group. Results and discussion The objective response rate (ORR) was elevated in camrelizumab plus CP group compared to CP group (58.1% vs. 32.5%, p = 0.031), while disease control rate (DCR) was of no difference between those two groups (83.9% vs. 72.5%, p = 0.255). Camrelizumab plus CP achieved a prolonged PFS compared with CP alone (median: 11.0 (95% CI: 9.1-12.9) months versus 7.2 (95% CI: 5.1-9.3) months, p = 0.026), also realized an increasing OS trend (without statistical significance; 19.3 (95% CI: 15.4-23.2) months versus 15.1 (95% CI: 13.9-16.3) months, p = 0.093). Further multivariate Cox's regression analysis exhibited that camrelizumab plus CP (vs. CP) independently related to prolonged PFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p = 0.027). Moreover, the most common adverse events related to camrelizumab plus CP were fatigue (45.2%), peripheral neuropathy (35.5%), nausea and vomiting (35.5%); furthermore, most adverse events were controllable. What is new and conclusion Camrelizumab plus chemotherapy exhibits good efficacy and manageable adverse events in treating advanced non-squamous NSCLC patients.