Overview
- An international randomized phase III study enrolled 210 previously untreated stage IIIC/IV non‑small cell lung cancer patients receiving pembrolizumab or sintilimab plus chemotherapy.
- For the first four cycles, infusions were scheduled before 3 p.m. or at/after 3 p.m., and participants were followed for roughly 29 months.
- Early scheduling yielded median progression‑free survival of 11.3 months versus 5.7 months and median overall survival of 28.0 months versus 16.8–17.0 months.
- Adverse events were similar between groups, and earlier dosing correlated with higher circulating CD8+ T cells and a more favorable activated‑to‑exhausted T‑cell profile.
- Published in Nature Medicine, the study highlights a simple, cost‑neutral scheduling change and calls for replication in broader populations and routine recording of infusion times in future trials.