A real-world study evaluated tarlatamab (Imdelltra) in 23 patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), a group with higher disease burden than typical clinical trials. Many patients were older (median age 72), 61% had brain metastases, and 43% had received two or more prior treatments.
Among 18 evaluable patients, the objective response rate was 27.7%, with all responses being partial. Disease control was achieved in 44.4% of patients. Median progression-free survival was about 4.6 months, and median overall survival was about 10.6 months.
Tarlatamab showed a manageable safety profile. Cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity were observed but were all mild (grade 1–2), with no severe cases. Most side effects occurred early in treatment, and only three patients stopped therapy due to toxicity.
Although limited by small size and retrospective design, the study suggests tarlatamab can be safely used in real-world ES-SCLC patients, including those with brain metastases.