Data May Support Pembrolizumab/Chemo as New SOC in Endometrial Cancer

Commentary
Video

Although immature, overall survival data from the KEYNOTE-868 trial may support the use of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in patients with endometrial cancer.

Findings may help usher in pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus chemotherapy as a treatment option for patients with endometrial cancer and establish a “new standard” for this population, said Ramez N. Eskander, MD.

Eskander, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of California San Diego Health, spoke with CancerNetwork® about how findings from the phase 3 NRG-GY018/KEYNOTE-868 trial (NCT03914612) may impact the standard of care for patients with endometrial cancer. He presented these results at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.

Although overall survival (OS) data were immature at the time of the analysis, Eskander highlighted a benefit associated with the pembrolizumab combination in the trial. He stated that he was optimistic these OS data combined with prior progression-free survival (PFS) findings would support pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as a treatment for those with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) or mismatch repair proficient (pMMR) disease.

According to data presented at the meeting, the median OS among patients in the pMMR population was 27.96 months (95% CI, 21.42-not reached [NR]) with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy vs 27.37 months (95% CI, 19.52-NR) with placebo plus chemotherapy (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.53-1.17; P = .1157). Additionally, the median OS was not reached in either arm among those with dMMR disease (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.25-1.19; P = .0617).

Transcript:

We’re optimistic about the totality of the evidence as it relates to both the progression-free survival advantage, which was highly significant and clinically beneficial, in combination with the data that we shared showing that the overall survival is also directionally favorable but immature, with only an 18% and 27% information fraction. We’re hopeful that these data, in combination, are going to help usher in this therapeutic strategy for both [patients with] mismatch repair deficient and mismatch repair proficient [disease]. If that’s the case, and we have access to this combinatorial approach, that may define a new standard for these patients.

Reference

Eskander RN, Sill M, Miller A, et al. Overall survival, progression-free survival by PD-L1 status, and blinded independent central review results with pembrolizumab plus carboplatin/paclitaxel (CP) versus placebo plus CP in patients with endometrial cancer: results from the NRG GY018 trial. Presented at: Society of Gynecologic Oncology 2024 Annual Meeting for Women’s Cancer; March 16-18, 2024; San Diego, CA.

Recent Videos
“Everyone—patients, doctors—we all want the same thing. We want [patients] to live longer,” said Kiran Turaga, MD, MPH, on patients with peritoneal surface malignancies.
Data from the phase 3 DeLLphi-304 trial at ASCO 2025 revealed a survival advantage with tarlatamab vs chemotherapy in second-line ES-SCLC.
The new peritoneal surface malignancy care guidelines had clinicians gather from every disease state to show increased representation.
The FDA approval of tarlatamab in SCLC has received much press attention, according to Daniel R. Carrizosa, MD, MS.
These new guidelines aim to alleviate some of the problems caused by patients with peritoneal metastases being diagnosed with the disease in late stages.
A combined cohort composed of patients from the TROPION-Lung01 and TROPION-Lung-05 trials showed a survival advantage with dato-DXd vs docetaxel.
The National ICE-T Conference may inspire future collaboration between community and academic oncologists in the management of different cancers.
Osimertinib/chemotherapy and amivantamab/lazertinib have exhibited an efficacy advantage vs osimertinib in patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC.
One of the largest obstacles to tackle in the kidney cancer landscape will be translating the research on rare kidney cancer subtypes into clinical trials.
Related Content