Spain will finance nivolumab for the treatment of lung cancer

Medicine nivolumab (Opdivo) developed by the pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb, will be funded by the Spanish National Health System for treat lung cancer in combination with chemotherapy platinum-based and improve patient survival. Specifically, the drug will be used as the first option for neoadjuvant immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with PD-L1 expression equal to or greater than 1% and a high risk of relapse.

The Ministry of Health approved this new indication for the drug based on the results of the CheckMate 816 phase III clinical trial, which showed that three cycles of nivolumab with chemotherapy provided a statistically and clinically significant improvement that led to significantly longer survival absence of events and a higher percentage of patients with pathological complete response than chemotherapy alone when given before surgery. Moreover, the addition of nivolumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy “did not increase the incidence of adverse events or interfere with the option of surgery.”

Significant improvement in lung cancer treatment

The effectiveness of the treatment was proven in a study in which, with a minimum follow-up period of 21 months, the median event-free survival was 31.6 months when using nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy and 20.8 months when using chemotherapy alone. At one year, the percentage of patients surviving without disease progression or recurrence was estimated to be 76.1% with nivolumab plus chemotherapy and 63.4% with chemotherapy alone; After 2 years, the corresponding values ​​were 63.8% and 45.3%.

“Nivolumab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy is currently the only funded neoadjuvant immunotherapy treatment option in Spain”

In statements published by Diario Médico, Mariano Provencio, head of the medical oncology service at the Puerta de Hierro Hospital in Madrid (Spain) and president of the Spanish Group on Lung Cancer (GECP), emphasized that the GECP is a pioneer in lung cancer research. this new standard of treatment. And he noted that the approval of this new indication not only includes the drug, but also “is a change in therapeutic strategy that involves many professionals: pathologists, surgeons, oncologists or radiation therapists. “We found a significant improvement that could put us on track to treat a significant number of patients after decades of no progress.”

For her part, Sandra Horta, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb in Spain and Portugal, said that “surgery alone is not always enough to prevent the recurrence of cancer; Nivolumab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy is currently the only neoadjuvant immunotherapy treatment option funded in Spain and we are very proud to provide patients with a solution that can help them reduce their risk of relapse, disease progression and death.”