# EMPOWER-Lung 1

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/empower-lung-1/  
OnCo record `empower-lung-1` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

EMPOWER-Lung 1 showed that cemiplimab, a third PD-1 antibody, lengthens life compared with chemotherapy in lung cancers with high PD-L1, reproducing the pembrolizumab result with a different drug.

## Summary

EMPOWER-Lung 1 randomised 710 patients with untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer to cemiplimab or platinum doublet chemotherapy; the primary population was the 563 patients whose tumours had confirmed PD-L1 expression of 50 percent or more. Patients on chemotherapy could cross over to cemiplimab at progression, and patients on cemiplimab could add chemotherapy.

In the PD-L1-high population median overall survival was not reached with cemiplimab against 14.2 months with chemotherapy (hazard ratio 0.57), and median progression-free survival was 8.2 against 5.7 months (hazard ratio 0.54). In the three-year update median overall survival was 26.1 months against 13.3 months, with the hazard ratio unchanged despite crossover.

The FDA approved cemiplimab for this indication in February 2021, and a companion trial, EMPOWER-Lung 3, later added cemiplimab to chemotherapy regardless of PD-L1.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: positive
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Registry id: NCT03088540
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer with PD-L1 of 50 percent or more and no EGFR, ALK or ROS1 alteration: cemiplimab versus platinum doublet chemotherapy, with crossover at progression
- Sponsor: Regeneron / Sanofi
- Enrolled: 710
- Result: Median overall survival not reached vs 14.2 months (hazard ratio 0.57) in PD-L1 50% or more; 26.1 vs 13.3 months in the three-year update; median progression-free survival 8.2 vs 5.7 months.
- Outcomes: Overall survival, PD-L1 50% or more (three-year update): Cemiplimab 26.1 months vs Platinum chemotherapy 13.3 months, HR 0.57; Progression-free survival, PD-L1 50% or more: Cemiplimab 8.2 months vs Platinum chemotherapy 5.7 months, HR 0.54
- Replication: Reproduces KEYNOTE-024 (pembrolizumab) and IMpower110 (atezolizumab) in the same PD-L1-high population.

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03088540: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03088540
- The Lancet 2021: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00228-2
- Lancet Oncology 2023 (three-year update): https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00329-7

## Connected records

- cancers: [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [PD-L1-high non-small-cell lung cancer without a driver mutation](https://onco.cc/cancers/pdl1-high-nsclc/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- targets: [PD-1](https://onco.cc/targets/pd1/), [PD-L1](https://onco.cc/targets/pdl1/)
- drugs: [Carboplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/carboplatin/), [Cemiplimab](https://onco.cc/drugs/cemiplimab/), [Cisplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/cisplatin/), [Paclitaxel / nab-paclitaxel](https://onco.cc/drugs/paclitaxel/), [Pemetrexed](https://onco.cc/drugs/pemetrexed/)
- companies: [Regeneron](https://onco.cc/companies/regeneron/), [Sanofi](https://onco.cc/companies/sanofi/)
- pathways: [PD-1 / PD-L1 immune checkpoint & T-cell activation](https://onco.cc/pathways/pd1-checkpoint/)
- terms: [PD-L1 expression testing (22C3, SP142, SP263)](https://onco.cc/terms/pd-l1-testing/), [Tumour proportion score (TPS)](https://onco.cc/terms/tps/)

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