Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Recurrent or Metastatic Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated with Pembrolizumab in KEYNOTE-629

Brett G.M. Hughes, Rene Gonzalez Mendoza, Nicole Basset-Seguin, Olga Vornicova, Jacob Schachter, Abhishek Joshi, Nicolas Meyer, Florent Grange, Josep M. Piulats, Jessica Bauman, Diana Chirovsky, Pinghu Zhang, Burak Gumuscu, Ramona Swaby, Jean Jacques Grob

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: Pembrolizumab provided durable responses and acceptable safety in recurrent or metastatic (R/M) cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) in the KEYNOTE-629 study. In this elderly, fragile population with disfiguring tumours, preservation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is critical. Here, we present pre-specified exploratory HRQoL analyses from the first interim analysis of KEYNOTE-629. Methods: Patients with R/M cSCC not amenable to surgery or radiation therapy received pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks for ≤ 24 months. HRQoL end points included change from baseline to week 12 in European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) global health status (GHS)/QoL, functioning, symptom and European Quality of Life 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) scores and change from baseline through week 48 in EORTC QLQ-C30 GHS/QoL and physical functioning scores. Improvement (≥ 10-point increase post-baseline with confirmation) was assessed using the exact binomial method. Results: Analyses included 99 patients for EORTC QLQ-C30 and 100 for EQ-5D-5L. Compliance was > 80% at week 12. Mean scores were stable from baseline to week 12 for GHS/QoL (4.95 points; 95% confidence interval, −1.00 to 10.90) and physical functioning (−3.38 points; 95% confidence interval, −8.80 to 2.04). EORTC-QLQ-C30 functioning, symptom, and EQ-5D-5L scores remained stable at week 12. Post-baseline scores were improved in 29.3% of patients for GHS/QoL, 17.2% for physical functioning, and in a numerically higher proportion of responders versus non-responders (GHS/QoL, 55.6% versus 16.1%; physical functioning, 36.1% versus 7.1%). Conclusions: In elderly patients with R/M cSCC, the clinical efficacy of pembrolizumab translates into a benefit validated by HRQoL preservation or improvement during treatment. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03284424.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1777-1790
Number of pages14
JournalDermatology and Therapy
Volume11
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2021

Keywords

  • Cancer
  • Clinical trial
  • Immunotherapy
  • Pembrolizumab
  • Quality of life
  • Squamous cell carcinoma

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