This nonrandomized trial evaluates the treatment outcomes and safety of pembrolizumab plus concurrent chemoradiation therapy in stage III non–small cell lung cancer.
Is administration of pembrolizumab plus concurrent chemoradiation therapy (cCRT) effective and safe in patients with locally advanced, stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)?
Administration of pembrolizumab plus concurrent chemoradiation therapy (cCRT) may provide treatment benefit to patients with locally advanced, stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The phase 2, nonrandomized, 2-cohort, open-label KEYNOTE-799 study enrolled patients between November 5, 2018, and July 31, 2020, from 52 academic facilities and community-based institutions across 10 countries. As of October 28, 2020, median (range) follow-up was 18.5 (13.6-23.8) months in cohort A and 13.7 (2.9-23.5) months in cohort B. Of 301 patients screened, 216 eligible patients with previously untreated, unresectable, and pathologically/radiologically confirmed stage IIIA/IIIB/IIIC NSCLC with measurable disease per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1) were enrolled.
Patients in cohort A (squamous/nonsquamous) received 1 cycle (3 weeks) of carboplatin (area under the curve [AUC] 6 mg/mL/min), paclitaxel (200 mg/m 2), and pembrolizumab (200 mg), followed by carboplatin (AUC 2 mg/mL/min) and paclitaxel (45 mg/m 2) once weekly for 6 weeks and 2 cycles of pembrolizumab plus standard thoracic radiotherapy. Patients in cohort B (nonsquamous) received 3 cycles of cisplatin (75 mg/m 2), pemetrexed (500 mg/m 2), and pembrolizumab (200 mg) every 3 weeks and thoracic radiotherapy in cycles 2 and 3. Patients received 14 additional cycles of pembrolizumab.
Coprimary end points were objective response rate per RECIST v1.1 by blinded independent central review and incidence of grade 3 to 5 pneumonitis.
A total of 112 patients received treatment in cohort A (76 men [67.9%]; median [range] age, 66.0 [46-90] years; 66 patients [58.9%] with programmed cell death ligand 1 [PD-L1] tumor proportion score ≥1%) and 102 patients received treatment in cohort B (62 men [60.8%]; median [range] age, 64.0 [35-81] years; 40 patients [39.2%] with PD-L1 tumor proportion score ≥1%). Objective response rate was 70.5% (79 of 112; 95% CI, 61.2%-78.8%) in cohort A and 70.6% (72 of 102; 95% CI, 60.7%-79.2%) in cohort B. Median duration of response was not reached, but 79.7% and 75.6%, respectively, had response duration of 12 months or longer. Grade 3 or higher pneumonitis occurred in 9 of 112 patients (8.0%) in cohort A and 7 of 102 (6.9%) in cohort B. Grade 3 to 5 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 72 of 112 (64.3%) and 51 of 102 (50.0%) patients, respectively.