Real-world analysis in patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer who received durvalumab after concurrent chemoradiotherapy
In brief
Durvalumab after chemoradiation yields 80% two-year survival in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer
In a single-center cohort of 45 Chinese patients, median progression-free survival was 18.6 months and 46.7% remained progression-free at two years; overall survival at two years reached 80.3%. Immune-related adverse events occurred in about one-third, most commonly hypothyroidism and pneumonitis, and were generally manageable.
- Journal
- Translational lung cancer research (Q1)
- Published
- 29 June 2026
- Study design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Evidence level
- Level 1, High (CEBM 1b)
- Authors
- Jiayi Yu, Xue Yang, Jiahui Shan, Dan Yang, Xiao Chang, Leilei Jiang, et al.
- PMID
- 42582865
- DOI
- 10.21037/tlcr-2026-0287
Why clinicians should know about it
- Picked for Oncology and Radiation Oncology (top studies of the week, 16 August 2026): Real‑world durvalumab after cCRT in limited‑stage SCLC
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The phase III, double-blind, randomized ADRIATIC trial established durvalumab maintenance therapy following platinum-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) as the standard of care for patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). However, real-world evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of durvalumab in this patient population remains scarce. We therefore conducted a retrospective real-world analysis to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety profile of durvalumab consolidation after cCRT in patients with LS-SCLC. METHODS: This retrospective, single-center, real-world cohort study (NCT07050472) enrolled patients with LS-SCLC who received cCRT followed by durvalumab consolidation at Peking University Cancer Hospital between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023. The primary endpoint was real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS), defined as the time from the initiation of durvalumab to investigator-confirmed disease progression or all-cause death, whichever occurred first. Secondary endpoints included the 2-year rwPFS rate, 2-year overall survival (OS) rate, duration of durvalumab treatment (DoT), and safety outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 45 eligible patients were included in the analysis. The median age was 57 years, and the majority (93.3%) had stage III disease. Thoracic radiotherapy was administered as 54 Gy in twice-daily fractions in 84.4% of patients and as 45 Gy in twice-daily fractions in 15.6% of patients. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) was delivered to 68.9% of the study population. At the data cutoff date (June 27, 2025), the median follow-up for rwPFS was 53.6 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 43.5-55.3]. The median DoT of durvalumab was 13.0 months (95% CI: 9.0-not reached). The median rwPFS was 18.6 months (95% CI: 17.6-39.9), with a 2-year rwPFS rate of 46.7% (95% CI: 31.7-60.3%). Median OS was not reached, and the 2-year OS rate was 80.3% (95% CI: 68.9-93.5%). Adverse events (AEs) leading to durvalumab discontinuation occurred in 17.8% of patients. Immune-related AEs (irAEs) were documented in 16 patients (35.6%), with hypothyroidism (6 patients, 13.3%) and pneumonitis (6 patients, 13.3%) being the most common. Two patients (4.4%) developed grade 3 pneumonitis. The overall incidence of radiation pneumonitis was 20%, with no grade 3-4 events reported. All patients were treated with volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first real-world cohort study investigating durvalumab consolidation after cCRT in Chinese patients with LS-SCLC. Our findings demonstrate that this treatment strategy yields favorable clinical effectiveness and a manageable safety profile in routine clinical practice, supporting its role as the standard of care for this patient population.
Abstract as published, via PubMed.
For healthcare professionals. The summary is generated by AI from the published abstract, and the evidence level is assigned automatically from the study design on the Oxford CEBM hierarchy. Neither is medical advice. Read the full paper before changing practice.