Video
Dr. Gadgeel on Pembrolizumab/Chemo Combo in NSCLC
Author(s):
Shirish Gadgeel, MD, medical oncologist, leader of the Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, discusses the KEYNOTE-021 study, which is examining the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and chemotherapy as a potential treatment for patients with non–small cell lung cancer.
Shirish Gadgeel, MD, medical oncologist, leader of the Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, discusses the KEYNOTE-021 study, which is examining the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and chemotherapy as a potential treatment for patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
In this phase I multicenter trial, pembrolizumab was combined with 3 cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens. Recently, findings from the first 3 cohorts were presented. Cohort A was comprised of pembrolizumab in combination with carboplatin/paclitaxel, while cohort B was pembrolizumab plus carboplatin/paclitaxel/bevacizumab (Avastin). Cohort C was pembrolizumab added to carboplatin/pemtrexed. Safety was the trial's primary endpoint.
Results showed that the combination was found to be fairly tolerable in all 3 cohorts, with approximately 25 patients in each arm. There was one case of a dose-limiting toxicity, Gadgeel adds. The overall response rate across 3 cohorts was 55%. The median progression-free survival was 10.5 months, and the median overall survival has not yet been observed.
