Compassionate Use of Lurbinectedin Demonstrates Efficacy, Safety in Previously Treated Patients With Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer
According to results from a real-world study, compassionate use of lurbinectedin demonstrated both efficacy and safety among previously treated patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).
“Recently, lurbinectedin has emerged as a promising second-line treatment option, supported by the results of a phase II study,” stated Daniela Scattolin, MD, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padova, Italy, and coauthors. Here, researchers “provide a real-world insight into the effectiveness and safety of single agent lurbinectedin as compassionate use.”
In this study, researchers collected data from 238 patients who received 3.2 mg/m2 of intravenous lurbinectedrin once every 3 weeks in the second line or later. Primary end points included objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety.
At analysis, the ORR was 23.1% and the disease control rate was 45.5%. Median PFS was 2.2 months, and median OS was 5.4 months. Any grade adverse events occurred in 92% of patients and Grade 3/4 adverse events occurred in 29% of patients. Median PFS was 3.1 months in patients with a chemotherapy-free interval of ≥ 90 days and 1.8 months in patients with a chemotherapy-free interval of < 90 days (hazard ratio [HR] 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.30 to 0.71; P < .001). Median OS was 6.8 months and 4.5 months (HR 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.37 to 0.85; P = .006), respectively. Patients with a performance status ≥ 2 or with brain or liver metastases had worse outcomes.
“Our study provides valuable real-world insights into the effectiveness and safety of lurbinectedin as compassionate use treatment for ES-SCLC, supporting its use with outcomes consistent with those observed in clinical trials and other real-world studies,” concluded Dr Scattolin et al.
Source:
Scattolin D, Dingemans AMC, Dal Maso A, et al. Outcome and safety of lurbinectedin as compassionate use in extensive stage small cell lung cancer: A multicentric international cohort. Eur J Cancer. Published online: July 2, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2025.115595
