Dr. Bauml on KEYNOTE-055 Study for Patients With HNSCC

Video

Joshua M. Bauml, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center, discusses the preliminary results of the KEYNOTE-055 study, which investigated pembrolizumab (Keytruda) after failure on platinum-based therapy and cetuximab in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Joshua M. Bauml, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center, discusses the preliminary results of the KEYNOTE-055 study, which investigated pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) after failure on platinum-based therapy and cetuximab (Erbitux).

This patient population currently has very few options, as there are no available agents that demonstrate clinical activity, Bauml explains. Methotrexate, for example, has an approximate overall response rate (ORR) of 5% and an overall survival (OS) rate of 6 months, demonstrating an unmet need for this subgroup.

In KEYNOTE-055, in which 84% of patients received 2 or more prior therapies, pembrolizumab was well tolerated and was also associated with an ORR of 17-18%. The median OS was 8 months, Bauml adds.

Related Videos
Catherine C. Coombs, MD, associate clinical professor, medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Naomi Adjei, MD, MPH, MSEd, gynecologic oncology fellow, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
John M. Kirkwood, MD, Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Sandra and Thomas Usher Professor of Medicine, Dermatology & Translational Science, coleader, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program, Division of Hematology/Oncology, the University of Pittsburgh
Nizar M. Tannir, MD, FACP, professor; Ransom Horne, Jr. Professor for Cancer Research, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
William B. Pearse, MD
Daniel Olson, MD
Nan Chen, MD
Robert Dreicer, MD, director, Solid Tumor Oncology, Division of Hematology/Oncology, professor of Medicine and Urology, deputy director, University of Virginia Cancer Center
Akriti Jain, MD
Samer A. Srour, MB ChB, MS