Vebreltinib Plus Furmonertinib in Patients With EGFR-mutated Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and High PD-L1 Expression

Patients with advanced NSCLC harboring EGFR mutations and high PD-L1 expression (TPS ≥50%) have primary resistance to third-generation EGFR-TKI monotherapy, with a median PFS of only 3.8-5.0 months, representing an unmet clinical need. Basic research has shown that PD-L1 can inhibit protein tyrosine phosphatase through a non-immune pathway, leading to sustained MET phosphorylation and induction of MET amplification, which mediates EGFR-TKI resistance. This study aims to overcome primary resistance by simultaneously blocking the EGFR and MET pathways through the combination of the MET inhibitor Vebreltinib and the third-generation EGFR-TKI furmonertinib. The study is divided into two phases: the phase Ib dose-escalation phase adopts a parallel cohort design, enrolling two dose groups simultaneously. Each group initially enrolls 3 patients for a 28-day DLT observation period. If DLT ≤1 case, the cohort will be expanded to at least 6 evaluable patients; if DLT ≥2 cases, the cohort will be terminated. The RP2D will be determined comprehensively based on DLT incidence, incidence of grade ≥2 AEs, dose adjustment rate, and 8-week ORR. The phase II efficacy-expansion phase will use the RP2D, with the primary endpoint being median PFS. It is expected that combination therapy will prolong the median PFS from 4 months in historical data to 8.5 months. Patients will receive treatment until disease progression, death, withdrawal of informed consent, or intolerable toxicity. Imaging assessments will be performed every 8 weeks, with an additional tumor assessment on day 28 of cycle 1 for phase Ib patients. Safety assessments include adverse events, laboratory tests, electrocardiograms, and echocardiograms, graded according to NCI-CTCAE v5.0.