• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

KEYNOTE-040 evaluates pembrolizumab in head and neck cancer

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
September 11, 2017
in Science News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

LUGANO-MADRID, 11 September, 2017 – Immunotherapy with the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab may be a better option than standard treatments for patients whose head and neck cancer has spread, or recurred after an initial round of chemotherapy, according to results of the Keynote-040 trial presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid. (1)

Although the 19% improvement in overall survival among patients treated with pembrolizumab did not meet the prespecified difference for statistical significance, it was nevertheless a clinically meaningful difference for this population who only lived seven to eight months, on average, after initiating treatment, said lead investigator Dr. Ezra Cohen, from the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center, in La Jolla, California.

"Even though the study did not meet its primary endpoint, I still think it is a positive trial," he said. "It reinforces that pembrolizumab should continue to be offered as an important option for all patients with this devastating disease."

The KEYNOTE-040 trial was a global, open-label, phase 3 study which included patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) after a platinum-based chemotherapy.

Patients were randomised to receive either pembrolizumab (n=247) or standard of care (SOC) treatment (n=248), which was the investigator's choice of either methotrexate, docetaxel, or cetuximab.

Median overall survival (OS) was only marginally higher in the pembrolizumab compared to standard treatment arm (8.4 versus 7.1 months, hazard ratio [HR] 0.81 95% CI 0.66-0.99, P= .0204), however for a subset of patients who had PD-L1-expressing tumours, pembrolizumab was associated with dramatic and significantly improved outcomes.

Specifically, among patients with combined tumour and immune cell PD-L1-expression (CPS) of at least 1%, median OS was 8.7 months with pembrolizumab versus 7.1 months with standard treatments (HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.59-0.95, P=.0078), and among patients with PD-L1-expression in more than 50% of their cancer cells, median OS was 11.6 versus 7.9 months respectively (HR 0.54; 95% CI 0.35-0.82, P=.0017).

Compared to the other treatments, pembrolizumab measured up well in terms of side-effects.

"In almost every category it had a better side-effect profile, meaning a lower incidence of toxicity, versus standard treatments," said Cohen. "The exception is hypothrodism, which occurred in 13% of those treated with pembro versus only 1% of those given other treatments."

Overall, Cohen said the KEYNOTE-040 trial reinforces what is already known about anti-PD therapy in head and neck cancer. "From a clinician's perspective I would feel the same in any country. This is a meaningful therapy that improves survival."

Asked to comment for ESMO, Dr. Amanda Psyrri, from the University of Athens Medical School, and Attikon University Hospital in Athens said: "Keynote-040 did not reach its primary endpoint of overall survival; however, pembrolizumab was superior to investigator's choice in terms of toxicity, an important consideration in treatment decisions for these poor-prognosis patients with recurrent/metastatic platinum-refractory HNSCC. As the authors point out, subsequent immunotherapy in the SOC arm may have confounded OS analysis. The magnitude of treatment effect was greater in patients with PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) ? 1%, especially those with CPS ?50%,suggesting that pembrolizumab may represent the preferable treatment option for this subset of patients."

###

Notes to Editors

Please make sure to use the official name of the meeting in your reports: ESMO 2017 Congress

References

1 Abstract LBA45_PR 'Pembrolizumab (pembro) vs standard of care (SOC) for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC): Phase 3 KEYNOTE-040 trial' will be presented by Dr. Cohen during Proffered Paper Session 'Head and neck cancer' on Monday, 11 September 2017, 15:00 to 16:20 (CEST) in Granada Auditorium.

Disclaimer

This press release contains information provided by the authors of the highlighted abstracts and reflects the content of those abstracts. It does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ESMO who cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the data. Commentators quoted in the press release are required to comply with the ESMO Declaration of Interests policy and the ESMO Code of Conduct.

About the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)

ESMO is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology. With 16,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 130 countries worldwide, ESMO is the society of reference for oncology education and information. We are committed to supporting our members to develop and advance in a fast-evolving professional environment. http://www.esmo.org

Media Contact

Jackie Partarrieu
[email protected]
34-628-761-122
@myesmo

http://www.esmo.org

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Spin Squeezing Achieved in Diamond NV Centers

October 2, 2025
blank

Revolutionizing Materials: Long-Distance Remote Epitaxy

October 2, 2025

Spirituality Eases Occupational Stress in Nurses’ Lives

October 2, 2025

Edge States Shaped by Eigenvalue, Eigenstate Winding

October 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    73 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

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

Follow us

Recent News

Spin Squeezing Achieved in Diamond NV Centers

Revolutionizing Materials: Long-Distance Remote Epitaxy

Spirituality Eases Occupational Stress in Nurses’ Lives

Subscribe to Blog via Email

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

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

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
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.