Outcomes With First‐Line <scp>PD1</scp> Inhibitors in Extranodal <scp>NK/T‐Cell</scp> Lymphoma: A Comparative Analysis From a 755‐Patient Multicenter Cohort

Although programmed cell death 1 inhibitors (PD1i) are recommended in guidelines for relapsed/refractory extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL), their role in frontline therapy remains unclear. In this retrospective, multi-center study of 755 newly diagnosed ENKTL patients, 17.9% received first-line PD1i. Despite harboring more adverse risk features, the PD1i group showed significantly improved progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.62, p = 0.007) and overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.55, p = 0.027) after a median follow-up of 32.9 months. The benefit was also observed in key subgroups (non-upper aerodigestive tract, advanced stage, intermediate/high-risk). Conventional multivariate Cox regression before propensity score matching, robust multivariate Cox analysis after matching, and the time-varying Cox model employed in landmark analysis consistently demonstrated that PD1i therapy served as an independent favorable prognostic factor for both progression-free survival and overall survival. The random forest algorithm revealed enhanced efficacy with PD1i-asparaginase combination therapy, showing about a 50% reduction in event probability, particularly in advanced-stage and intermediate/high-risk patients. Multi-state survival modeling indicated PD1i primarily delays disease progression rather than post-progression survival. Safety data showed that adding PD1i to asparaginase-based chemotherapy resulted in an expected increase in hematologic toxicities, but with a reduced risk of severe/fatal infections and rare severe immune-related adverse events, demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit profile. Overall, in this study, frontline PD1i, particularly in combination with asparaginase, yielded significantly improved outcomes and demonstrated a manageable safety profile in intermediate-/high-risk and advanced ENKTL. This evidence supports its incorporation into first-line treatment and underscores the need for prospective randomized trials.