Lurbinectedin Offers Significant Survival Benefit for Patients With Extensive-Stage SCLC
Key Points
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Extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) is difficult to treat, with limited treatment options.
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The potential practice-changing IMforte trial evaluated maintenance lurbinectedin plus atezolizumab.
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The overall survival data and adverse event profile of the IMforte trial are promising for patients with ES-SCLC.
ES-SCLC is an aggressive, difficult-to-treat disease that often presents challenges in achieving long-term survival. Clinical trials are investigating novel treatment options, such as immunotherapies, chemotherapy, and combinations of these agents, to help patients live longer.
A potential practice-changing trial in the SCLC space is the IMforte study, which examined the use of lurbinectedin plus atezolizumab as a maintenance therapy in previously treated patients with ES-SCLC.
The study included 660 patients who were all treated with atezolizumab and chemotherapy (carboplatin-etoposide). They were then randomly selected to receive maintenance lurbinectedin and atezolizumab or atezolizumab alone.
At the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Sandip Patel, MD, FASCO, of UC San Diego Health, discussed the findings and their implication for the future of ES-SCLC treatment. “Our ability to help patients is driven by the ability to control disease,” he said during an interview with Eric Singhi, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Patients who received maintenance lurbinectedin reduced their risk of overall death by 27% and had improved quality of life compared with patients given atezolizumab alone.
Drs. Patel and Singhi discussed adverse event findings of the trial and benefits of dose reduction. They also emphasized the importance of having discussions with patients and caregivers about side effects.