Interim survival analysis of the randomized phase III GEMSTONE-302 trial: sugemalimab or placebo plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment for metastatic NSCLC

The randomized, double-blinded, multi-center, phase III GEMSTONE-302 ( NCT03789604 ) study evaluated the efficacy and safety of sugemalimab versus placebo in combination with chemotherapy as first-line treatment for metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, 479 treatment-naive patients with stage IV squamous or non-squamous NSCLC without known EGFR sensitizing mutations, ALK, ROS1 or RET fusions were randomized (2:1) to receive 1,200 mg of sugemalimab (n = 320) or placebo (n = 159) every 3 weeks in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy for up to four cycles, followed by maintenance therapy with sugemalimab or placebo for squamous NSCLC and sugemalimab or placebo plus pemetrexed for non-squamous NSCLC. Placebo-treated patients could cross over to receive sugemalimab monotherapy on disease progression. The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS) and the secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS) and objective response rate. Sugemalimab plus chemotherapy has demonstrated significant PFS prolongation in the primary analysis as reported previously. As of 22 November 2021, the prespecified interim OS analysis showed significant improvement with the addition of sugemalimab to chemotherapy (median OS = 25.4 versus 16.9 months; hazard ratio = 0.65; 95% confidence interval = 0.50–0.84; P = 0.0008). Sugemalimab plus chemotherapy provided superior PFS and OS compared to placebo plus chemotherapy, supporting the use of sugemalimab as a first-line treatment option for metastatic NSCLC. Zhou et. al. report the interim results of the randomized phase III GEMSTONE-302 trial, showing the overall survival benefits of first-line treatment with the PD-L1 inhibitor sugemalimab versus placebo in combination with chemotherapy, in patients with NSCLC.