Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tecentriq (atezolizumab) as adjuvant treatment, following surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy, for adults with Stage II-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumours express PD-L1≥1%, as determined by an FDA-approved test.

“Tecentriq is now the first and only cancer immunotherapy available for adjuvant treatment of NSCLC, introducing a new era where people diagnosed with early lung cancer may have the opportunity to receive immunotherapy to increase their chances for cure,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., PhD, Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development.

“Too many patients with early-stage lung cancer experience disease recurrence following surgery. Now, the availability of immunotherapy following surgery and chemotherapy offers many patients new hope and a powerful new tool to reduce their risk of cancer relapse,” said Bonnie Addario, Co-founder and Chair, GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. “With this approval, it is more important than ever to screen for lung cancer early and test for PD-L1 at diagnosis to help bring this advance to the people who can benefit.”

The approval is based on results from an interim analysis of the Phase III IMpower010 study. The results showed treatment with Tecentriq, following surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy, reducing the risk of disease recurrence or death by 34% (hazard ratio [HR]=0.66, 95% CI: 0.50-0.88) in people with Stage II-IIIA NSCLC (UICC/AJCC 7th edition) whose tumours express PD-L1≥1%, compared with best supportive care (BSC). Safety data for Tecentriq were consistent with its known safety profile and no new safety signals were identified. Fatal and serious adverse reactions occurred in 1.8% and 18%, respectively, of patients receiving Tecentriq. The most frequent serious adverse reactions (>1%) were pneumonia (1.8%), pneumonitis (1.6%), and pyrexia (1.2%).

Tecentriq has previously shown clinically meaningful benefits in various types of lung cancer, with six currently approved indications in the US. In addition to becoming the first approved cancer immunotherapy for adjuvant NSCLC, Tecentriq was also the first approved cancer immunotherapy for front-line treatment of adults with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) in combination with carboplatin and etoposide (chemotherapy). Tecentriq also has four approved indications in advanced NSCLC as either a single agent or in combination with targeted therapies and/or chemotherapies. Tecentriq is available in three dosing options, providing the flexibility to choose administration every two, three or four weeks.