Dr. Gadgeel on Pembrolizumab/Chemo Combo in NSCLC

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.