The following article features coverage from the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Click here to read more of Cancer Therapy Advisor‘s conference coverage.

PD-1 inhibition with pembrolizumab may be an effective treatment option for adolescent and young adult patients with some sarcoma subtypes, according to a study presented at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, Illinois.1

Among adolescents and young adults with cancer, 10% to 15% have sarcoma, which carries a poor prognosis after metastasis or relapse.


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For this retrospective analysis, researchers reviewed data from 14 adolescent and young adult patients with sarcoma to determine whether PD-1 inhibition is an effective strategy in this setting.

All patients had advanced bone/tissue sarcoma and received pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg intravenously every 21 days. Patients were self-funded.

The median age was 24 (range, 14 to 35), 7 were male and 7 female, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance scores were 0 to 1 in 6 patients, 2 in 6 patients, and 3 to 4 in 2 patients.

Three patients had osteosarcoma, 5 had Ewing sarcoma, 2 had synovial sarcoma, 2 had alveolar soft part sarcoma, 1 had embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, and 1 had and clear cell sarcoma.

All patients were treated between May 2015 and December 2016. The median follow-up was 4 drug doses, though 3 patients died prior to assessment.

An “excellent, sustained response” was observed in 1 patient with Ewing sarcoma. Both patients with alveolar soft part sarcoma responded, 1 with an “excellent clinical response” and 1 with stable disease. All other patients had progressive disease.

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No grade 3 or worse adverse events were observed.

The authors concluded that these “data suggest further evaluation of the role of pembrolizumab in [adolescent and young adult] patients with advanced sarcoma is warranted.”

Read more of Cancer Therapy Advisor‘s coverage of the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting by visiting the conference page.

Reference

  1. Scheinberg T, Lomax A, Tattersall MH, et al. PD-1 blockade using pembrolizumab in adolescent and young adult patients with advanced bone and soft tissue sarcoma. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35(suppl; abstr 3060).