Anti-PD-1 Agents Reach Significant Amount of Patients Following FDA Approval

Following their approval, anti—PD-1 agents reach a significant proportion of patients within a few months, according to new study findings.

Anticancer agents, including anti—PD-1 agents, continue to enter the market at an accelerated rate through the breakthrough designation. While traditional estimates suggest it often takes more than 10 years for innoations to change patient care, little is known about how quickly novel therapies reach the hands of patients.

To answer this question, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients receiving nivolumab or pembrolizumab for previously treated or untreated melanoma, nivolumab or pembrolizumab for previously treated non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), or nivolumab for previously treated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from January 1, 2011 through August 31, 2016. The results were published in JAMA Oncology.

Of the 3089 patients eligible for anti—PD-1 treatment, 555 had melanoma, 2159 had NSCLC, and 375 had RCC. The median age at diagnosis of advanced stage disease for patients with melanoma and RCC was 66 and for patients with NSCLC was 67.

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