Monitoring anti-PD-1-based immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer with FDG PET: introduction of iPERCIST

Background Immunotherapy represents a new therapeutic approach in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) with the potential for prolonged benefits. Because of the systemic nature and heterogeneity of tumoral diseases, as well as the immune restoration process induced by immunotherapy, the assessment of therapeutic efficacy is challenging, and the role of FDG PET is not well established. We evaluated the potential of FDG PET to monitor NSCLC patients treated with a checkpoint inhibitor. Results This was a retrospective analysis of 28 NSCLC patients treated with nivolumab, a programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blocker. All patients underwent a PET scan before treatment (SCAN-1) and another scan 2 months later (SCAN-2). Disease progression was assessed by immune PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (iPERCIST), which was adapted from PERCIST; and the immune Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST). iPERCIST is a dual-time-point evaluation of “unconfirmed progressive metabolic disease” (UPMD) status at SCAN-2. UPMD at SCAN-2 was re-evaluated after 4 weeks with SCAN-3 to confirm PMD. Patients with complete/partial metabolic response (CMR or PMR) or stable metabolic disease (SMD) at SCAN-2 or -3 were considered responders. Patients with UPMD confirmed at SCAN-3 were considered non-responders. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival. At SCAN-2, we found 9/28 cases of PMR, 4/28 cases of SMD, 2/28 cases of CMR, and 13/28 cases of UPMD. Four of the 13 UPMD patients were classified as responders at SCAN-3 (PMR n = 1, SMD n = 3). The remaining nine UPMD patients were classified as non-responders due to clinical degradation, and treatment was stopped. The median follow-up was 16.7 months [3.6–32.2]. Responders continued treatment for a mean of 10.7 months [3.8–26.3]. Overall survival was longer for responders than that for non-responders (19.9 vs. 3.6 months, log rank p = 0.0003). The 1-year survival rates were 94% for responders and 11% for non-responders. A comparison with iRECIST showed reclassification in 39% (11/28) of patients with relevant additional prognostic information. Conclusions iPERCIST dual-time-point evaluation might be a powerful tool for evaluating anti-PD-1-based immunotherapy, with the ability to identify patients who can benefit most from treatment. The prognostic value of iPERCIST criteria should be confirmed in large prospective multicentric studies.