Article Type
Changed
Fri, 01/04/2019 - 14:25

 

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The drug is now approved for use in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or nanoparticle albumin–bound (nab) paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of NSCLC, regardless of PD-L1 expression status.

This makes pembrolizumab the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved in the first-line setting both as monotherapy and in combination treatment for certain patients with metastatic NSCLC. All appropriate patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC or metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC and no EGFR or ALK mutations are now eligible to receive pembrolizumab-based treatment first-line.

The FDA’s approval is based on results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-407 trial. This randomized, double-blind study enrolled patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC, regardless of tumor PD-L1 expression status, who had received no prior systemic treatment for metastatic disease.

Patients in the pembrolizumab arm (n = 278) received pembrolizumab and carboplatin every 3 weeks for four cycles, plus paclitaxel every 3 weeks for four cycles or nab-paclitaxel on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 3-week cycle for four cycles, followed by pembrolizumab every 3 weeks.

Patients in the control arm (n = 281) received the same regimen of carboplatin and paclitaxel/nab-paclitaxel, but placebo instead of pembrolizumab.

There was a significant improvement in overall response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival in patients who received pembrolizumab.

The overall response rate was 58% in the pembrolizumab arm and 35% in the placebo arm (P = .0008). The median duration of response was 7.2 months and 4.9 months, respectively.

The median progression-free survival was 6.4 months in the pembrolizumab arm and 4.8 months in the placebo arm (P less than .0001). The median overall survival was 15.9 months and 11.3 months, respectively (P = .0017).

Safety data are available for the first 203 patients treated on the trial, 101 of them in the pembrolizumab arm.

Fifteen percent of patients discontinued pembrolizumab because of adverse events (AEs), and 43% of patients on pembrolizumab experienced AEs leading to dose interruption.

The most common AEs leading to dose interruption in the pembrolizumab arm were thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, asthenia, and diarrhea. The most frequent serious AEs in the pembrolizumab arm were febrile neutropenia, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection.

Additional details on this trial are available in the prescribing information, which can be found on the Keytruda website.

Publications
Topics
Sections

 

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The drug is now approved for use in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or nanoparticle albumin–bound (nab) paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of NSCLC, regardless of PD-L1 expression status.

This makes pembrolizumab the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved in the first-line setting both as monotherapy and in combination treatment for certain patients with metastatic NSCLC. All appropriate patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC or metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC and no EGFR or ALK mutations are now eligible to receive pembrolizumab-based treatment first-line.

The FDA’s approval is based on results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-407 trial. This randomized, double-blind study enrolled patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC, regardless of tumor PD-L1 expression status, who had received no prior systemic treatment for metastatic disease.

Patients in the pembrolizumab arm (n = 278) received pembrolizumab and carboplatin every 3 weeks for four cycles, plus paclitaxel every 3 weeks for four cycles or nab-paclitaxel on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 3-week cycle for four cycles, followed by pembrolizumab every 3 weeks.

Patients in the control arm (n = 281) received the same regimen of carboplatin and paclitaxel/nab-paclitaxel, but placebo instead of pembrolizumab.

There was a significant improvement in overall response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival in patients who received pembrolizumab.

The overall response rate was 58% in the pembrolizumab arm and 35% in the placebo arm (P = .0008). The median duration of response was 7.2 months and 4.9 months, respectively.

The median progression-free survival was 6.4 months in the pembrolizumab arm and 4.8 months in the placebo arm (P less than .0001). The median overall survival was 15.9 months and 11.3 months, respectively (P = .0017).

Safety data are available for the first 203 patients treated on the trial, 101 of them in the pembrolizumab arm.

Fifteen percent of patients discontinued pembrolizumab because of adverse events (AEs), and 43% of patients on pembrolizumab experienced AEs leading to dose interruption.

The most common AEs leading to dose interruption in the pembrolizumab arm were thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, asthenia, and diarrhea. The most frequent serious AEs in the pembrolizumab arm were febrile neutropenia, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection.

Additional details on this trial are available in the prescribing information, which can be found on the Keytruda website.

 

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The drug is now approved for use in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or nanoparticle albumin–bound (nab) paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of NSCLC, regardless of PD-L1 expression status.

This makes pembrolizumab the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved in the first-line setting both as monotherapy and in combination treatment for certain patients with metastatic NSCLC. All appropriate patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC or metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC and no EGFR or ALK mutations are now eligible to receive pembrolizumab-based treatment first-line.

The FDA’s approval is based on results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-407 trial. This randomized, double-blind study enrolled patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC, regardless of tumor PD-L1 expression status, who had received no prior systemic treatment for metastatic disease.

Patients in the pembrolizumab arm (n = 278) received pembrolizumab and carboplatin every 3 weeks for four cycles, plus paclitaxel every 3 weeks for four cycles or nab-paclitaxel on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 3-week cycle for four cycles, followed by pembrolizumab every 3 weeks.

Patients in the control arm (n = 281) received the same regimen of carboplatin and paclitaxel/nab-paclitaxel, but placebo instead of pembrolizumab.

There was a significant improvement in overall response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival in patients who received pembrolizumab.

The overall response rate was 58% in the pembrolizumab arm and 35% in the placebo arm (P = .0008). The median duration of response was 7.2 months and 4.9 months, respectively.

The median progression-free survival was 6.4 months in the pembrolizumab arm and 4.8 months in the placebo arm (P less than .0001). The median overall survival was 15.9 months and 11.3 months, respectively (P = .0017).

Safety data are available for the first 203 patients treated on the trial, 101 of them in the pembrolizumab arm.

Fifteen percent of patients discontinued pembrolizumab because of adverse events (AEs), and 43% of patients on pembrolizumab experienced AEs leading to dose interruption.

The most common AEs leading to dose interruption in the pembrolizumab arm were thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, asthenia, and diarrhea. The most frequent serious AEs in the pembrolizumab arm were febrile neutropenia, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection.

Additional details on this trial are available in the prescribing information, which can be found on the Keytruda website.

Publications
Publications
Topics
Article Type
Sections
Disallow All Ads
Content Gating
No Gating (article Unlocked/Free)
Alternative CME
Disqus Comments
Default
Use ProPublica