Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab Appears Tolerable in Stage IIIB-D Melanoma
Source: Cancer Network, January 2025
The phase 1/2 KEYMAKER-U02 trial evaluating pembrolizumab alone or as a combination therapy in stage IIIB-D melanoma found no adverse event–related deaths.
Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) alone or as a combination therapy with vibostolimab (MK-7684) or gebasaxturev (coxsackievirus A21), followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, displayed manageable safety in patients with stage IIIB-D melanoma, according to results from the phase 1/2 KEYMAKER-U02 trial (NCT04303169) published in Nature Medicine.
Safety data from the trial revealed that across all arms (n = 66), 63 patients (95%) had at least 1 adverse event (AE), including 96% of the pembrolizumab/vibostolimab arm, 96% of the pembrolizumab/gebasaxturev arm, and 93% of the monotherapy arm. Furthermore, at least 1 grade 3 or 4 AE occurred in 15%, 40%, and 27% of respective arms, and no deaths related to an AE occurred.