PD-L1 testing and clinical management of newly diagnosed metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in Spain: MOREL study

Abstract

Aim: To describe the clinical management and PD-L1 testing of patients with newly diagnosed stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without driver mutations in Spain. Methods: Multicenter, retrospective study. Results: Among 297 evaluated patients, 89.2% received systemic treatment for stage IV disease, of whom 53.6% received platinum doublet therapy, 26.8% immunotherapy as monotherapy and 14.7% immunotherapy + chemotherapy, with 9.4% receiving treatment as part of a clinical trial. Treatment was initiated 1 month after histological diagnosis, with PD-L1 test results available in most cases (92.6%). PD-L1 testing was performed in 287 patients, 95.1% by in-house tests, mostly with the 22C3 pharmDx assay. The factor most strongly associated with treatment selection was, as expected, the expression of PD-L1. Conclusion: PD-L1 testing is implemented in clinical practice and seems to guide treatment decisions in patients with NSCLC in Spain.