| 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
- 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).
