Hyun C. Chung, MD, PhD, professor at Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Republic of Korea, discusses the rationale of the KEYNOTE-811 study in HER2-positive gastric cancer.

The KEYNOTE-811 trial looked at the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy for patients with HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Investigators previously conducted chemotherapy plus anti-HER2 treatment in HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer. In the previous trial, researchers saw a benefit that ranged from 11 to 13 months. Since then, there have been no positive data on a specific targeting agent in HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer, says Chung.

Investigators hypothesized that the combination of a PD-1 inhibitor and anti-HER2 therapy would result in T-cell activation, augment antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and potentially activate an antitumor immune response in HER2-positive patients. The rationale was that this combination would be a promising option for recovering HER2 resistance, concludes Chung.

Videos

Hyun C. Chung, MD, PhD, discusses the rationale of the KEYNOTE-811 study in HER2-positive gastric cancer.

Dr. Chung on the Rationale of the KEYNOTE-811 Trial in HER2+ Gastric Cancer

Hyun C. Chung, MD, PhD, professor at Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Republic of Korea, discusses a joint analysis of the KEYNOTE-028 and KEYNOTE-158 trials in patients with advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

In the phase Ib KEYNOTE-028 trial, investigators observed activity with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) monotherapy in patients with pretreated SCLC. However, it was unclear whether the benefit of the PD-1 inhibitor was restricted to patients with PD-L1 positivity, says Chung. As such, investigators looked to the KEYNOTE-158 trial, which examined the agent in patients irrespective of PD-L1 expression.

All patients in the joint analysis had received at least 2 prior lines of therapy for advanced disease. Of 131 patients enrolled in both trials, 83 were eligible for evaluation in the joint analysis. Data showed that approximately 10% of patients experienced durable responses with pembrolizumab monotherapy in the third-line, irrespective of PD-L1 status. Additional data indicated that the objective response rate was 19.3%, which included 2 complete responses and 14 partial responses.

Hyun C. Chung, MD, PhD

Articles

Dr. Chung on the Rationale of the KEYNOTE-811 Trial in HER2+ Gastric Cancer

Dr. Chung on a Joint Analysis of Immunotherapy Trials in SCLC