# Atezolizumab for advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-atezolizumab-alveolar-soft-part-sarcoma-chen-nejm-2023/  
OnCo record `paper-atezolizumab-alveolar-soft-part-sarcoma-chen-nejm-2023` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The PD-L1 antibody atezolizumab shrank tumours in about a quarter of patients with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma, with responses lasting years in a disease resistant to chemotherapy, and became the first approved treatment for this sarcoma.

## Summary

Phase 2 study of 52 patients aged 2 and older with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma treated with atezolizumab every three weeks.

Objective response was 24 percent (37 percent in an updated analysis with longer follow-up), with a median duration of response of over 16 months and stable disease in most others; toxicity was typical of PD-L1 blockade and low grade.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
- Year: 2023
- DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2303383
- Authors: Chen AP, Sharon E, O'Sullivan-Coyne G, et al.
- Findings: Objective response 24 percent (37 percent with longer follow-up).; Median duration of response 16.5 months; many responses ongoing.
- What it means: Atezolizumab is the first-line systemic treatment for advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma, a rare, slow-growing but ultimately metastatic sarcoma of young adults for which chemotherapy never worked.
- Caveats: Single-arm study in a rare disease; responses can take many months to appear.

## Sources

- N Engl J Med 2023: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2303383
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37672694/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Alveolar soft part sarcoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/alveolar-soft-part-sarcoma/)
- drugs: [Atezolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/atezolizumab/)
- journals: [New England Journal of Medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/nejm/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/paper-atezolizumab-alveolar-soft-part-sarcoma-chen-nejm-2023.json