Sacituzumab tirumotecan plus pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab in PD-L1-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (OptiTROP-Lung05): interim analysis of a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND

Sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT), a trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, combined with programmed death 1 (PD-1) or programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors, has shown promising antitumour activity as first-line therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in early-phase studies. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sac-TMT plus pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for patients with PD-L1-positive advanced NSCLC without targetable genomic alterations.

METHODS

In this randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial (OptiTROP-Lung05) conducted across 68 hospitals in China, eligible patients had locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC without targetable genomic alterations and a PD-L1 tumour proportion score (TPS) of 1% or greater. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive sac-TMT (4 mg/kg on days 1, 15, and 29) plus pembrolizumab (400 mg fixed dose on day 1), or pembrolizumab alone, administered intravenously every 6 weeks. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival, as assessed by blinded independent central review in the intention-to-treat population. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06448312). Recruitment is complete, with the trial ongoing and the final analysis to be reported later.

FINDINGS: Between June 7, 2024, and March 27, 2025, 741 patients were screened and 413 eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive sac-TMT plus pembrolizumab (n=208) or pembrolizumab alone (n=205). At the prespecified interim analysis, conducted after a median follow-up of 10·5 months (IQR 8·7-12·5), median progression-free survival was significantly longer with sac-TMT plus pembrolizumab than with pembrolizumab alone (not reached vs 5·7 months; stratified hazard ratio [HR] 0·35 [95% CI 0·26-0·47]; p<0·0001). The progression-free survival benefit was broadly consistent across subgroups, including patients with PD-L1 TPS of 1-49% (HR 0·28 [95% CI 0·19-0·41]) and those with PD-L1 TPS of 50% or greater (HR 0·47 [0·29-0·77]). Grade 3 or higher treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 115 (55%) of 208 patients in the sac-TMT plus pembrolizumab group and 64 (31%) of 204 patients in the pembrolizumab group.

INTERPRETATION: Among patients with PD-L1-positive advanced NSCLC without targetable genomic alterations, first-line treatment with sac-TMT plus pembrolizumab significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone. Therefore, sac-TMT plus pembrolizumab has the potential to redefine first-line treatment for patients with PD-L1-positive advanced NSCLC without targetable genomic alterations.

FUNDING: Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical.