Efficacy of nivolumab in patients treated by corticosteroid due to immune-related adverse events.

163Background: Nivolumab is a standard treatment for metastatic or refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Because immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are common and can be severe, a number of these patients require systemic corticosteroids. irAEs are reportedly associated with improved survival in melanoma patients treated with nivolumab. To date, little information is available regarding the effect of corticosteroid on the efficacy of nivolumab in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods: We reviewed consecutive patients who received nivolumab for metastatic or refractory NSCLC between December 2015 and August 2017. Nivolumab was administered at the standard dose of 3 mg/kg every two weeks. We recorded the patient demographics, efficacy and safety of nivolumab, previous and subsequent treatments, information about irAEs, corticosteroid usage, and survival. PFS and OS were calculated from the start of nivolumab treatment. A Cox proportional hazards regression m...