This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

First-line pembrolizumab improves survival for head, neck cancer

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

A phase 3 trial of frontline pembrolizumab monotherapy met its co-primary endpoint of OS among patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma whose tumors expressed PD-L1, according to the manufacturer.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) — an anti-PD-1 therapy — is indicated for the treatment of certain patients with melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, urothelial carcinoma and gastric cancer.

The open-label KEYNOTE-048 trial included patients with previously untreated HNSCC with tumors that expressed PD-L1 (combined proportion score 20). Researchers randomly assigned patients to pembrolizumab or cetuximab in combination with platinum chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin) plus 5-FU.

Results from an interim analysis showed improved OS among those treated with pembrolizumab compared with standard of care.

At the time of the analysis, the co-primary endpoint of PFS had not been reached.

The safety profile appeared consistent with the known safety of the agent among patients with HNSCC.

“This interim analysis of KEYNOTE-048 trial has shown that Keytruda monotherapy has the potential to help patients with head and neck cancer whose tumors express high levels of PD-L1,” Roy Baynes, MD, PhD, senior vice president, head of global clinical development and chief medical officer at Merck Research Laboratories, said in a press release. “We look forward to presenting these initial results from the KEYNOTE-048 trial at an upcoming medical meeting and are grateful to the investigators and patients for their continued involvement in this important study.”