Health-related Quality of Life Analysis from KEYNOTE-426: Pembrolizumab plus Axitinib Versus Sunitinib for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

  • Jens Bedke
  • , Brian I. Rini
  • , Elizabeth R. Plimack
  • , Viktor Stus
  • , Rustem Gafanov
  • , Tom Waddell
  • , Dmitry Nosov
  • , Frédéric Pouliot
  • , Denis Soulieres
  • , Bohuslav Melichar
  • , Ihor Vynnychenko
  • , Sergio J. Azevedo
  • , Delphine Borchiellini
  • , Ray McDermott
  • , Satoshi Tamada
  • , Allison Martin Nguyen
  • , Shuyan Wan
  • , Rodolfo Perini
  • , L. Rhoda Molife
  • , Michael B. Atkins
  • Thomas Powles

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: In the phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 (NCT02853331) trial, pembrolizumab + axitinib demonstrated improvement in overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rate over sunitinib monotherapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Objective: To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in KEYNOTE-426. Design, setting, and participants: A total of 861 patients were randomly assigned to receive pembrolizumab + axitinib (n = 432) or sunitinib (n = 429). HRQoL data were available for 429 patients treated with pembrolizumab + axitinib and 423 patients treated with sunitinib. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: HRQoL end points were measured using the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Core (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), EQ-5D visual analog rating scale (VAS), and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Kidney Cancer Symptom Index—Disease-Related Symptoms (FKSI-DRS) questionnaires. Results and limitations: Better or not different overall improvement rates from baseline between pembrolizumab + axitinib and sunitinib were observed for the FKSI-DRS (–0.79% improvement vs sunitinib; 95% confidence interval [CI] –7.2 to 5.6), QLQ-C30 (7.5% improvement vs sunitinib; 95% CI 1.0–14), and EQ-5D VAS (9.9% improvement vs sunitinib; 95% CI 3.2–17). For time to confirmed deterioration (TTcD) and time to first deterioration (TTfD), no differences were observed between arms for the QLQ-C30 (TTcD hazard ratio [HR] 1.0; 95% CI 0.82–1.3; TTfD HR 0.82; 95% CI 0.69–0.97) and EQ-5D VAS (TTcD HR 1.1; 95% CI 0.87–1.3; TTfD HR 0.98; 95% CI 0.83–1.2). TTfD was not different between treatment arms (HR 1.1; 95% CI 0.95–1.3) for the FKSI-DRS, but TTcD favored sunitinib (HR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1–1.7). Patients were assessed during the off-treatment period for sunitinib, which may have underestimated the negative impact of sunitinib on HRQoL. Conclusions: Overall, patient-reported outcome scales showed that results between the pembrolizumab + axitinib and sunitinib arms were not different, with the exception of TTcD by the FKSI-DRS. Patient summary: Compared with sunitinib, pembrolizumab + axitinib delays disease progression and extends survival, while HRQoL outcomes were not different between groups.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)427-439
Number of pages13
JournalEuropean Urology
Volume82
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2022

Keywords

  • Advanced renal cell carcinoma
  • Axitinib
  • Health-related quality of life
  • Pembrolizumab
  • Sunitinib

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