Chemo After PD-1 Inhibitor Blockade for Metastatic Melanoma Yields a Durable Response
Administration of chemotherapy in patients with metastatic melanoma that progressed after PD-1 inhibitor-based therapy has a 12% response rate that can be durable, according to results from a clinical study (Oncology. 2019 Dec 3. Epub ahead of print).
“Retrospective case studies in various cancers have shown clinical benefit from chemotherapy following PD-1 inhibitor progression,” said lead investigator Georgia Sofia Karachaliou, MD, MSc, Department of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues.
“We asked whether we see a similar clinical benefit with chemotherapy following PD-1 inhibitor progression in metastatic melanoma,” they continued.
A total of 25 patients (median age, 58 years) with metastatic melanoma that progressed after PD-1 inhibitor-based therapy were included in the retrospective study by Dr Karachaliou et al.
The majority of patients had cutaneous melanoma (72%), BRAFV600E-negative disease (75%), and were given temozolomide monotherapy (84%). Ultimately, 2 patients were reported as having durable responses to chemotherapy at a median follow-up of 21.0 months (progression-free survival is 31.9+ and 21.6+ months, respectively), while 1 patient had a partial, short-term response.
“We conclude that in this poor prognosis group administration of chemotherapy has a 12% response rate that can be durable,” Dr Karachaliou and co-investigators said.
“Overall, the clinical benefit is not inferior to that of PD-1 inhibitor-based treatments,” they concluded.—Hina Porcelli
