Ifinatamab Deruxtecan Shows Activity in Previously Treated ES-SCLC

Ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) at 12 mg/kg may offer meaningful benefits for patients with previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, according to early results from the phase 2 IDeate-Lung01 trial which were shared at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer.

In an interview with CURE, lead study author Dr. Myung-Ju Ahn explained that among 137 patients, nearly half experienced a noticeable reduction in tumor size, and most patients had their disease controlled for some time. Responses were often seen quickly, typically within about six weeks, and lasted for several months.

Ahn is professor of hemato-oncology in the Department of Medicine at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul.

Transcript

What were the main findings regarding how well the treatment worked, and what do these results mean for patients living with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer?

In this analysis, 137 patients were included. The median age was 63, and most patients received two or three lines of treatment. … The patients included in this study were heavily pre-treated, and some even had brain metastases. Typically, patients with brain metastases are excluded from clinical trials, which makes this study quite unique.

The results are quite remarkable. The confirmed objective response rate was 48.2%, including three complete responses. The disease control rate was 87.5%, the median duration of response was 5.3 months, the median progression-free survival was 4.9 months and the median overall survival was 10.3 months.

These results are quite remarkable when compared to historical benchmarks. For instance, conventional [combination] chemotherapy has shown only a response rate of less than 25% and a very limited progression-free survival of around three months. Compared with those results, this study is quite remarkable. The intracranial response rate was also 46.2%, which is promising given the high incidence of brain metastases in small-cell lung cancer.

Overall, this study suggests that ifinatamab deruxtecan is a good treatment option for patients with previously treated small-cell lung cancer.

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