Association between immune-related adverse events and recurrence-free survival among patients with stage III melanoma randomized to receive pembrolizumab or placebo : A secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial

Source: MDLinx, April 2020

In the present study, the researchers sought to explore the connection between immune-related adverse events and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in the double-blind EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 clinical trial comparing pembrolizumab therapy and placebo for the treatment of individuals with high-risk stage III melanoma. In total, 1,019 adults with stage III melanoma were randomly assigned on a 1:1 ratio to receive treatment with pembrolizumab therapy or placebo. Among both men and women in the pembrolizumab arm, the occurrence of an immune-related adverse event was linked to longer RFS. However, this association was not significant in the placebo arm. Such results indicate that the occurrence of an adverse event associated with the immune system is an indication of pembrolizumab activity in patients with high-risk stage III melanoma.