Dr Lorenza Landi speaks to ecancer about the exploratory analyses from the CASPIAN trial evaluating whether primary tumour laterality influences outcomes in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer treated with durvalumab plus chemotherapy.

The study confirmed that durvalumab combined with platinum-etoposide improved overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone in both right and left sided tumours, with consistent benefit across subgroups.

While patients with right-sided tumours showed slightly longer overall survival and distinct molecular features, including higher immune cell infiltration, the survival benefit of durvalumab was maintained regardless of tumour location.

These findings support the robustness of immunotherapy benefit in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer and suggest potential biological differences worth further investigation.