Sandra P. D’Angelo, MD, medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the incidence and prognosis of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).

MCC is a rare cancer that affects approximately 1,000 to 2,000 individuals in the United States each year, says D’Angelo. However, like many skin malignancies, the incidence of MCC is rising, D’Angelo explains.

Surgical excision of the tumor remains the standard of care for patients who present with localized MCC, D’Angelo says. Although this is an appropriate course of treatment, a proportion of patients will have disease recurrence and metastasis, D’Angelo explains. Notably, significant research advances have been made in the metastatic setting in recent years for this patient population, concludes D’Angelo.

Videos

Sandra P. D’Angelo, MD, discusses the incidence and prognosis of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma. 


Dr. D’Angelo on the Incidence and Prognosis of Merkel Cell Carcinoma 

Sandra P. D’Angelo, MD, medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the results of a pilot study investigating the combination of bempegaldesleukin (NKTR-214) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) in patients with sarcomas.

The multicenter study enrolled 50 patients into 9 cohorts: leiomyosarcoma (LMS), undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS), dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS), chondrosarcoma (CS) and osteosarcoma (OS), angiosarcoma (AS), alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS), synovial sarcoma/small blue round cell, and other. These patients were extensively pre-treated, with 50% of patients having received ≥3 prior therapies, said D’Angelo. The average duration of systemic treatment before enrolling on the trial was about 100 days.

Patients received the combination of bempegaldesleukin (.0006 mg/kg) plus nivolumab (360 mg) every 3 weeks. The combination demonstrated promising activity in various cohorts. Two patients with UPS had a confirmed partial response (PR), along with one patient with CS and one patient with LMS. A decrease in tumor burden was also reported in certain patients.

A good deal of activity with the combination has been observed in those with AS, which is of particular interest because the disease has shown to be responsive to checkpoint inhibitors, says D’Angelo. Of the 5 patients enrolled in this subgroup, there was 1 confirmed PR, 4 patients achieved stable disease, and 2 experienced a decrease in tumor burden.

Several patients with DDLPS were observed to have prolonged disease stability with the combination; this is important as these were patients who had progressive disease prior to trial enrollment, explains D’Angelo.

Based on these results, further exploration of the combination in a treatment-naïve setting is warranted, concludes D’Angelo.

Sandra P. D'Angelo, MD

Articles

Dr. D’Angelo on the Incidence and Prognosis of Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Dr. D'Angelo on Bempegaldesleukin/Nivolumab Combo in Sarcomas