Pembrolizumab for recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC): Post hoc analyses of treatment options from the phase III KEYNOTE-040 trial

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Pembrolizumab Alone or With Chemotherapy for Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma in KEYNOTE-048: Subgroup Analysis by Programmed Death Ligand-1 Combined Positive Score.

PURPOSE: The phase III KEYNOTE-048 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02358031) trial of pembrolizumab in recurrent or metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) included planned efficacy analyses in the total population and in participants with programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 1 and CPS ≥ 20. To further characterize the predictive value of PD-L1 expression on outcome, we conducted efficacy analyses in the PD-L1 CPS < 1 and CPS 1-19 subgroups in KEYNOTE-048. METHODS: Participants with R/M HNSCC and no prior systemic therapy for R/M disease were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to pembrolizumab, pembrolizumab-chemotherapy, or cetuximab-chemotherapy. Post hoc efficacy analyses of the PD-L1 CPS < 1 and CPS 1-19 subgroups were performed. RESULTS: Of 882 participants enrolled, 128 had PD-L1 CPS < 1 and 373 had CPS 1-19. For pembrolizumab versus cetuximab-chemotherapy, the median overall survival was 7.9 versus 11.3 months in the PD-L1 CPS < 1 subgroup (hazard ratio [HR], 1.51 [95% CI, 0.96 to 2.37]) and 10.8 versus 10.1 months in the CPS 1-19 subgroup (HR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.66 to 1.12]). For pembrolizumab-chemotherapy versus cetuximab-chemotherapy, the median overall survival was 11.3 versus 10.7 months in the PD-L1 CPS < 1 subgroup (HR, 1.21 [95% CI, 0.76 to 1.94]) and 12.7 versus 9.9 months in the CPS 1-19 subgroup (HR, 0.71 [95% CI, 0.54 to 0.94]). CONCLUSION: Increased efficacy of pembrolizumab or pembrolizumab-chemotherapy was observed with increasing PD-L1 expression. PD-L1 CPS < 1 subgroup analysis was limited by small participant numbers. Results from the PD-L1 CPS 1-19 subgroup support previous findings of treatment benefit with pembrolizumab monotherapy and pembrolizumab-chemotherapy in patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 1 tumors. Although PD-L1 expression is informative, exploration of additional predictive biomarkers is needed for low PD-L1-expressing HNSCC

HPV Prevalence and Prognostic Value in a Prospective Cohort of 255 Patients with Locally Advanced HNSCC: A Single-Centre Experience

Background. HPV is a positive prognostic factor in HNSCC. We studied the prevalence and prognostic impact of HPV on survival parameters and treatment toxicity in patients with locally advanced HNSCC treated with concomitant chemoradiation therapy. Methods. Data on efficacy and toxicity were available for 560 patients. HPV was detected by PCR. Analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves, Fisher’s test for categorical data, and log-rank statistics for failure times. Results. Median follow-up was 4.7 years. DNA extraction was successful in 255 cases. HPV prevalence was 68.6%, and 53.3% for HPV 16. For HPV+ and HPV−, median LRC was 8.9 and 2.2 years (P=0.0002), median DFS was 8.9 and 2.1 years (P=0.0014), and median OS was 8.9 and 3.1 years (P=0.0002). Survival was different based on HPV genotype, stage, treatment period, and chemotherapy regimen. COX adjusted analysis for T, N, age, and treatment remained significant (P=0.004). Conclusions. Oropharyngeal cancer is increasingly linked to HPV. This study confirms that HPV status is associated with improved prognosis among H&N cancer patients receiving CRT and should be a stratification factor for clinical trials including H&N cases. Toxicity of CRT is not modified for the HPV population

Subsequent therapy following pembrolizumab + axitinib or sunitinib treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the phase III KEYNOTE-426 study

Background: In the phase III KEYNOTE-426 study, pembrolizumab + axitinib showed significant improvement in OS, PFS, and ORR vs sunitinib in patients with RCC. This analysis assessed subsequent treatment in patients enrolled in KEYNOTE-426. Methods: Treatment-naive patients with clear cell RCC, KPS score �70%, and measurable disease (RECIST v1.1) were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive pembrolizumab 200 mg IV every 3 weeks for up to 35 doses + axitinib 5 mg orally twice daily or sunitinib 50 mg once daily (4 weeks on/2 weeks off) until progression, toxicity, or withdrawal. Type of and time to subsequent therapy were assessed. Results: Of patients in the pembrolizumab + axitinib arm and in the sunitinib arm, 81.4% (349/432) and 90.6% of patients (385/429), respectively, discontinued treatment; radiologic or clinical PD was the most common reason for discontinuation in both (pembrolizumab + axitinib: 65.0% [227/349]; sunitinib: 68.1% [262/385]). Of patients who discontinued, 58.5% of patients (204/349) in the pembrolizumab + axitinib arm and 73.0% (281/385) in the sunitinib arm received subsequent therapy (Table). Although a similar proportion of patients in both arms received subsequent therapy with a VEGF/VEGFR inhibitor (pembrolizumab + axitinib: 88.2% [180/204]; sunitinib: 68.7% [193/281]), a greater proportion of patients in the sunitinib arm (74.4% [209/281]) received subsequent PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy than in the pembrolizumab + axitinib arm (21.6% [44/204]). Of patients in the pembrolizumab + axitinib arm and the sunitinib arm, 32.4% (66/204) and 22.8% (64/281), respectively, received other therapies

Health-related Quality of Life Analysis from KEYNOTE-426: Pembrolizumab plus Axitinib Versus Sunitinib for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

The first interim analysis of the KEYNOTE-426 study showed superior efficacy of pembrolizumab plus axitinib over sunitinib monotherapy in treatment-naive, advanced renal cell carcinoma. The exploratory analysis with extended follow-up reported here aims to assess long-term efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab plus axitinib versus sunitinib monotherapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma

Correlation of KIT and PDGFRA mutational status with clinical benefit in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor treated with sunitinib in a worldwide treatment-use trial

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Background Several small studies indicated that the genotype of KIT or platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α (PDGFRA) contributes in part to the level of clinical effectiveness of sunitinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients. This study aimed to correlate KIT and PDGFRA mutational status with clinical outcome metrics (progression-free survival [PFS], overall survival [OS], objective response rate [ORR]) in a larger international patient population. Methods This is a non-interventional, retrospective analysis in patients with imatinib-resistant or intolerant GIST who were treated in a worldwide, open-label treatment-use study (Study 1036; NCT00094029) in which sunitinib was administered at a starting dose of 50 mg/day on a 4-week-on, 2-week-off schedule. Molecular status was obtained in local laboratories with tumor samples obtained either pre-imatinib, post-imatinib/pre-sunitinib, or post-sunitinib treatment, and all available data were used in the analyses regardless of collection time. The primary analysis compared PFS in patients with primary KIT exon 11 versus exon 9 mutations (using a 2-sided log-rank test) and secondary analyses compared OS (using the same test) and ORR (using a 2-sided Pearson χ2 test) in the same molecular subgroups. Results Of the 1124 sunitinib-treated patients in the treatment-use study, 230 (20 %) were included in this analysis, and baseline characteristics were similar between the two study populations. Median PFS was 7.1 months. A significantly better PFS was observed in patients with a primary mutation in KIT exon 9 (n = 42) compared to those with a primary mutation in exon 11 (n = 143; hazard ratio = 0.59; 95 % confidence interval, 0.39–0.89; P = 0.011), with median PFS times of 12.3 and 7.0 months, respectively. Similarly, longer OS and higher ORR were observed in patients with a primary KIT mutation in exon 9 versus exon 11. The data available were limited to investigate the effects of additional KIT or PDGFRA mutations on the efficacy of sunitinib treatment. Conclusions This large retrospective analysis confirms the prognostic significance of KIT mutation status in patients with GIST. This analysis also confirms the effectiveness of sunitinib as a post-imatinib therapy, regardless of mutational status. Trial registration NCT01459757