Sunday, May 28, 2023
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Biology

KEYNOTE-811: Pembrolizumab combination as a potentially transformative treatment for HER2-positive gastric cancer

December 15, 2021
in Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Published in Nature, results of the interim analysis show that this novel triplet combination markedly reduces tumor size, induces a complete response in some patients, and significantly improves objective response.

Josep Tabernero, Director, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Head, Medical Oncology Department, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (HUVH), Barcelona, Spain

Credit: Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology

Initial findings of the phase III KEYNOTE-811 trial of pembrolizumab plus trastuzumab and chemotherapy -first presented at ASCO 2021- led to the subsequent FDA approval of this combination for the first-line treatment of patients with HER2+ gastric cancer.

Published in Nature, results of the interim analysis show that this novel triplet combination markedly reduces tumor size, induces a complete response in some patients, and significantly improves objective response.

This study, upon completion, could lead to a paradigm shift in the treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2+ gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

According to a recent report (1) gastric cancer is responsible for over one million new cases worldwide in 2020, with an increasing incidence among young adults (aged <50 years). Ranking fifth for cancer incidence and fourth for cancer mortality, with an estimated 769,000 deaths globally in 2020, this tumor type represents a major healthcare challenge.

Approximately 20% of advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers have overexpression or amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which associates with a poor prognosis and increased disease recurrence and mortality. For over a decade, the combination of anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab and chemotherapy has constituted the standard first-line treatment for patients with HER2-positive disease.

KEYNOTE-811: ringing in IO-based therapy for HER2+ gastric cancer

Previous phase II studies combining PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab with trastuzumab and chemotherapy have shown increased clinical efficacy and a manageable safety profile in patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Building on these encouraging results, the randomized, double-blind, global phase III KEYNOTE-811 trial, led by Yelena Y. Janjigian, Chief of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC, New York, USA),  was designed to further assess this novel triplet combination in this patient population.

Published today in Nature (2), the KEYNOTE-811 Investigators including VHIO’s Director, Josep Tabernero, report results from the interim analysis of the first 264 patients who were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive pembrolizumab or placebo in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy.

Data show that the objective response rate was 74.4% in the pembrolizumab arm and 51.9% in the placebo arm, which represents a 22.7% improvement versus trastuzumab and chemotherapy, and supports preclinical data suggesting a possible synergy between dual HER2 and PD1 blockade.

“This study is the first to show the efficacy of a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor in this particular patient population. Not only did the combination of pembrolizumab, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy significantly improve objective response rate, it also markedly reduced tumor size and induced complete responses in some patients,” said co-author, Josep Tabernero.

“While these results are promising, the completion of this clinical trial will confirm whether our data translates in improved progression-free survival as well as overall survival,” added Josep Tabernero, Head of the Medical Oncology Department, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (HUVH, Barcelona, Spain).

The initial findings of KEYNOTE-811, that were selected to first outing during the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology – ASCO (04 – 08 June), led to the subsequent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accelerated approval of the pembrolizumab combination for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2+ gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

###

References:

  1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, Bray F. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021 May;71(3):209-249. doi: 10.3322/caac.21660. Epub 2021 Feb 4. PMID: 33538338.
  2. Yelena Y. Janjigian, Akihito Kawazoe, Patricio Yañez, Ning Li, Sara Lonardi, Oleksii Kolesnik, Olga Barajas, Yuxian Bai, Lin Shen, Yong Tang, Lucjan S. Wyrwicz, Jianming Xu, Kohei Shitara, Shukui Qin, Eric Van Cutsem, Josep Tabernero, Lie Li, Sukrut Shah, Pooja Bhagia & Hyun Cheol Chung. Combined PD-1 and HER2 blockade for HER2-positive gastric cancer. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04161-3.

 



Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-021-04161-3

Method of Research

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

Article Title

The KEYNOTE-811 trial of dual PD-1 and HER2 blockade in HER2-positive gastric cancer

Article Publication Date

15-Dec-2021

Tags: cancercombinationGastricHER2positiveKEYNOTE811PembrolizumabPotentiallyTransformativetreatment
Share26Tweet17Share5ShareSendShare
  • IMAGE

    A new synthesis method for three-dimensional nanocarbons

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Within just a few months a deadly epidemic killed all the black sea urchins in the Gulf of Eilat – a great threat to the coral reef in Eilat

    68 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • How eating natto might help to distress

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • GPS tracking reveals how a female baboon stopped using urban space after giving birth

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Promising building blocks for photonic quantum simulators

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Study highlights long-term benefits of family-based care following institutional care

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions bestows highest designation ranking to leading interventional cardiologists

SCAI announces new award recognizing the contributions of early career interventional cardiologists

Study finds cardiovascular risk score improves after one year of semaglutide use in patients with overweight and obesity

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 206 other subscribers

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In