Cemiplimab Boosts Survival in NSCLC Patients with Brain Metastases

In this exploratory subgroup analysis of the EMPOWER-Lung 1 study, first-line cemiplimab monotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC and PD-L1 ≥50% with brain metastases (following radiotherapy) yielded a median overall survival of 52.4 months versus 20.7 months with chemotherapy, along with significant progression-free survival improvements and better quality of life.

These findings highlight cemiplimab’s robust efficacy as an immunotherapy option that doubles survival time compared to chemotherapy and is better tolerated in approximately 1 in 4 (27%) NSCLC patients with PD-L1 high positive and brain metastases.