Effectiveness and Safety of PD-1 Inhibitors’ Treatment for Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in China: A Real-World Study

Background. In this research, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors, including toripalimab, sintilimab, and camrelizumab, were evaluated for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods. This retrospective research was conducted on patients with locally advanced and advanced NSCLC receiving various PD-1 inhibitors including toripalimab, sintilimab, and camrelizumab, between April 2019 and March 2023. Results. In total, the ORR and DCR of 167 patients included in this research were 40.72% (68/167) and 92.81% (155/167), respectively, while the statistical median PFS was 13.90 months (95% CI, 10.657–17.143), and the median OS was 30.10 months (95% CI, 22.142–38.058). Multifactorial analysis showed that two factors, line of treatment and history of smoking, had a statistically significant benefit on the patients’ PFS benefit (P < 0.05), while the factor that had a statistically significant benefit on the patients’ OS benefit was the presence of serious adverse events (AEs) during treatment. 83.83% and 24.55% of patients experienced any grade AEs and grade 3–5 AEs, respectively. Conclusions. In our research, therapy lines and history of smoking had influence on the efficacy of immunotherapy, while serious AEs during treatment were prognostic factors that affected the OS benefit of immunotherapy. Patients we studied did not die from treatment-related causes, and PD-1 inhibitors did not cause additional toxicity in elderly patients. However, further investigations and multicenter studies are needed.