Pembrolizumab After Two or More Lines of Previous Therapy in Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic SCLC: Results From the KEYNOTE-028 and KEYNOTE-158 Studies

IntroductionPembrolizumab has shown clinical benefit in patients with previously treated recurrent or metastatic SCLC in the phase 1b multicohort study KEYNOTE-028 (NCT02054806) and the phase 2 multicohort study KEYNOTE-158 (NCT02628067). We present a pooled analysis of patients from KEYNOTE-028 and KEYNOTE-158 who had received two or more lines of previous therapy for SCLC.MethodsEligible patients were aged 18 years and above, had histologically or cytologically confirmed incurable recurrent or metastatic SCLC, had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 1 and below, and had received two or more lines of previous therapy. Patients in KEYNOTE-028 were required to have a programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive tumor. Patients received pembrolizumab (10 mg/kg every 2 weeks in KEYNOTE-028 or 200 mg every 3 weeks in KEYNOTE-158) for up to 2 years. The primary end point was objective response rate per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1, which is presented here per independent review.ResultsEighty-three patients who had received two or more lines of previous therapy (KEYNOTE-028, n = 19; KEYNOTE-158, n = 64) were included. Median follow-up duration was 7.7 (range, 0.5–48.7) months. Objective response rate was 19.3% (95% confidence interval: 11.4–29.4); two patients had complete response (one with a PD-L1–positive tumor), and 14 patients had partial response (13 with PD-L1–positive tumors). The median duration of response was not reached (range, 4.1‒35.8+ mo; plus sign indicates ongoing response); 61% of responders had responses lasting 18 months or longer. Fifty-one patients (61.4%) experienced any-grade treatment-related adverse events; eight patients (9.6%) had grade 3 or higher events.ConclusionsPembrolizumab exhibited durable antitumor activity in a subset of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCLC who had undergone two or more previous lines of therapy, regardless of PD-L1 expression. Pembrolizumab was well tolerated.     

Managing cardiotoxicity associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

Immuno-oncology is a fast evolving field of cancer therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are clearly a breakthrough in this field. Cardiotoxicity with conventional anti-cancer therapies has been well studied in the past and clear guidelines for management of these side effects are available in the literature. However, cardiotoxicity with novel agents such as ICIs has been fairly under-reported and/or underestimated and we are yet to formulate clear guidelines for management of these rare side effects. In the last few years, there has been an overall increase in the number of cases of cardiotoxicity related to ICIs. In this literature review, we describe the mechanism of action of the most widely used ICIs and their related cardiotoxicities. The increase in number of case reports about the potential of cardiotoxicities with these novel agents clearly indicates the need for a new insight into the field of cardio-immuno-oncology.     

Health-Related Quality of Life in KEYNOTE-010: a Phase II/III Study of Pembrolizumab Versus Docetaxel in Patients With Previously Treated Advanced,Programmed Death Ligand 1–Expressing NSCLC

Introduction

In the phase II/III KEYNOTE-010 study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01905657), pembrolizumab significantly prolonged overall survival over docetaxel in patients with previously treated, programmed death ligand 1–expressing (tumor proportion score ≥ 1%), advanced NSCLC. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) results are reported here.

Durable Response in Patients With Thymic Carcinoma Treated With Pembrolizumab After Prolonged Follow-Up

Here, we present an update of a phase 2 study of pembrolizumab in patients with advanced thymic carcinoma who failed previous therapies. Duration of response was approximately 3 years, and median survival was in excess of 2 years with a 5-year survival rate of 18%. The higher than expected incidence of severe autoimmune disorders (15%) did not substantially increase with a longer follow-up. Pembrolizumab induces durable responses in patients with thymic carcinoma. Careful selection of patients and monitoring of toxicities are warranted.     

PD-1单抗Pembrolizumab治疗28例晚期肺癌的有效性及安全性观察

目的观察程序性死亡受体1(PD-1)单克隆抗体(单抗)Pembrolizumab治疗晚期肺癌的疗效和毒副反应。方法28例晚期肺癌患者,均接受PD-1单抗Pembrolizumab治疗,评价其近期疗效和毒副反应发生情况。结果28例患者中,3例患者于治疗1个月内因原发肿瘤进展、病情加重而死亡。其余25例患者,完全缓解1例、部分缓解4例、疾病稳定14例、疾病进展6例,客观反应率20.0%(5/25),疾病控制率76.0%(19/25)。可评价疗效的25例患者中位无进展生存期(PFS)为5.1个月,95%CI=(2.9,7.4)。28例患者常见的不良反应为疲乏5例(17.9%)、发热4例(14.3%)、免疫相关性肺炎6例(21.4%),其次为甲状腺功能减退3例(10.7%)、皮疹2例(7.1%)、腹泻2例(7.1%)、甲状腺功能亢进1例(3.6%)、心脏毒性1例(3.6%)。结论PD-1单抗Pembrolizumab对晚期肺癌疗效可,毒副作用可耐受。     

帕博利珠单抗相关爆发性心肌炎一例

免疫检查点抑制剂（ICIs）是近年来肿瘤治疗领域的最重要进展之一。随着ICIs适应证的不断拓展及国内原研药相继进入临床,ICIs将用于越来越多的肿瘤患者,然而ICIs的严重不良反应尚未引起临床医师的广泛关注。该文报道1例肝癌术后复发接受帕博利珠单抗治疗引起爆发性心肌炎的病例,患者主要表现为心肌酶升高,难治性心律失常,伴有肝损伤,呼吸衰竭等,虽经积极抢救最终死亡。该例提示ICIs相关免疫性心肌炎早期症状不典型,但疾病呈爆发性进展,需要临床医师早期识别,及早干预。