Melanoma Treatment Drug May Revolutionize Therapy for Other Cancers
TL/DR –
The immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda) has been found to improve survival rates in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers, according to an international clinical trial led by Washington University School of Medicine and Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center. The trial found that patients who received pembrolizumab, alongside standard-of-care therapy, saw greater tumor shrinkage prior to surgery and survived cancer-free for nearly two years longer than those who only received the standard treatment. If approved for this type of cancer, pembrolizumab would be the first change in standard-of-care therapy for locally advanced head and neck cancers in over two decades.
Groundbreaking Cancer Drug Pembrolizumab May Revolutionize Standard of Care for Head and Neck Cancers
An international clinical trial, co-led by Washington University School of Medicine and Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, has revealed that pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug primarily used as a melanoma treatment, may revolutionize the standard of healthcare for certain types of locally advanced head and neck cancers.
The trial results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Chicago. The study was conducted at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.
Currently, the standard-of-care therapy for such patients includes surgery to remove the tumor, radiation with or without chemotherapy. Pembrolizumab, a type of immunotherapy, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014 for advanced melanoma and has since been approved for other cancers. Its approval for locally advanced head and neck cancers would be a major change in standard-of-care therapy for this cancer type in over two decades.
The phase 3 clinical trial enrolled 714 patients with newly diagnosed stage III or stage IVA head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Patients received either standard-of-care therapy alone or the addition of pembrolizumab before and after surgery. Data showed that patients who received pembrolizumab survived cancer-free for a median of 51.8 months (about 4.3 years), compared with a median of 30.4 months (about 2.5 years) for those who received standard-of-care therapy alone.
“The survival benefit we’ve seen in adding pembrolizumab to standard-of-care therapy for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer is clinically meaningful and groundbreaking,” said co-senior author Douglas R. Adkins, MD, a professor of medicine and director of the Section of Head and Neck and Thyroid Medical Oncology at WashU Medicine.
The FDA is scheduled to announce a decision on approving pembrolizumab for locally advanced head and neck cancers in June.
Head and neck cancers include tumors of the mouth, sinuses, nose, and throat. Smoking and other tobacco use as well as human papillomavirus (HPV) infection increase the risk of such cancers.
Moving towards Clinical Practice with Remarkable Results
The idea of evaluating pembrolizumab for this specific cancer type originated at WashU Medicine. The findings from the initial phase 2 clinical trial led directly to this international phase 3 trial. “It’s exciting to see our ideas move toward clinical practice with such impressive and potentially life-changing results,” stated Adkins.
This study was funded by Merck, a global healthcare company dedicated to improving health and well-being around the world.
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