Dr. Zsiros Discusses Pembrolizumab Triplet in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
Emese Zsiros, MD, PhD, discusses the results of her recent phase II trial that set out to evaluate the use of pembrolizumab in combination with bevacizumab and oral metronomic cyclophosphamide in the treatment of patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.
Emese Zsiros, MD, PhD, assistant professor of oncology, Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Center for Immunotherapy, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses results of a phase II trial evaluating the use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) and oral metronomic cyclophosphamide for the treatment of patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.
In the study, pembrolizumab was administered at 200 mg intravenously (IV) in combination with bevacizumab at 15 mg/kg IV every 3 weeks, plus oral cyclophosphamide at 50 mg daily until patients experienced either disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Interim results of the open-label clinical trial, which were presented at the 2019 SGO Annual Meeting, demonstrated that the triplet combination elicited an overall response rate of nearly 40% in this group of heavily pretreated patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer; 16 out of 40 patients had a partial response, and 2 of these patients had a near complete response, Zsiros says. Additionally, 55% of patients had stable disease, and the disease control rate was 95%, she adds.
Regarding safety, the 3-drug combination was well tolerated, and the most common grade 3 adverse events were decreased lymphocyte count and hypertension.
