Retrospective analysis of immunotherapy outcomes in Black patients

[...]in the PACIFIC trial, which tested consolidation immunotherapy in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), only 2% of the entire trial—a mere 14 patients—were Black.4 Sean Miller and colleagues address an essential gap in understanding ICI effectiveness and safety from a sizable cohort of 26 398 patients, of whom 4943 self-reported as non-Hispanic Black (hereafter referred to as Black).5 With the inclusion of 1710 detailed chart reviews, this study uses the largest dataset to date, to our knowledge, to examine the effects of immunotherapy on Black individuals, and has gained the statistical power to detect meaningful differences in effectiveness and safety. [...]if confirmed, these data potentially inform oncologists of a different risk–benefit ratio for the use of immunotherapy in Black individuals compared to White individuals, potentially affecting clinical decisions between available treatment modalities. [...]the new Alliance for the Support and Prevention of Immune-Related Events has a responsibility to examine outcomes through the lens of race and address key questions.7 It is crucial that these data highlighting lower toxicity of ICIs in Black patients do not reduce vigilance in safety monitoring, especially in this population who have been historically marginalised.