Validation of the Lung Immune Prognostic Index in patients with untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer: Post hoc analysis of the IMpower 130, 131 and 150 trials.

Introduction: LIPI has been strongly correlated with immunotherapy (IT) outcomes in advanced NSCLC. Limited data is available for upfront chemotherapy (CT) + IT combinations. We aimed to study its prognostic value in 1st-line CT +/- IT +/- antiangiogenics.

Methods: Data from patients with wild-type EGFR/ALK aNSCLC included in IMpower150, IMpower131, and IMpower130 (international phase 3 multicenter studies) treated with 1st-line CT +/- atezolizumab and/or bevacizumab were retrospectively analysed. LIPI was calculated based on the neutrophil/(leucocytes-neutrophils) (dNLR) ratio and serum LDH: good (dNLR < 3 and LDH < ULN), intermediate (dNLR ≥ 3 or LDH ≥ ULN) and poor (dNLR ≥ 3 and LDH ≥ ULN).

Results: Out of 2540 patients, 48.6 % were LIPI good, 40.8 % intermediate and 10.6 % poor. LIPI was significantly associated with treatment outcomes (PFS, OS) in the overall cohort (p < 0.001) and in each treatment cohort (all p < 0.001). After adjustment for age, smoking status, number of metastatic sites, brain or liver involvement and performance status, LIPI remained an independent prognostic factor for PFS and OS. In the LIPI good group (n = 1235), longer PFS was observed in patients treated with CT + IT + AA (median [m] PFS 11.3 vs. < 7.6 months with other regimens, p < 0.001), with a trend for OS (mOS 26.1 vs 20.7 months, p = 0.08). No regimen demonstrated significant PFS benefit in the LIPI poor group compared to chemotherapy. LIPI-good + PD-L1 ≥ 50 % (n = 105) showed long responses (mPFS of 11.1 months, mOS not reached).

Conclusions: LIPI was prognostic for PFS and OS in prospective trials in aNSCLC, regardless of the treatment regimen. LIPI poor patients derived no benefit from combination treatment. LIPI combined to PD-L1 may improve the upfront treatment selection.