First-line pembrolizumab (pembro) plus chemotherapy (chemo) for advanced gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC): Analysis of KEYNOTE-590 and KEYNOTE-859 by tumor type.

Authors

null

Zev A. Wainberg

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Zev A. Wainberg , Kai-Keen Shiu , Fernando Rivera , Louise C. Medley , Morteza Aghmesheh , Richard Francis Dunne , Rajarshi Roy , Lucjan S. Wyrwicz , Timothy Larson , Jean-Philippe Metges , Wasat Mansoor , Eray Goekkurt , Luiz Carlos Moreira Antunes , Victor Castro Oliden , Erin Jensen , Sukrut Shah , Sonal Bordia , Pooja Bhagia , Maeve Aine Lowery

Organizations

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, University College London Hospitals and University College London Cancer Institute, NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Santander, Spain, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, Torquay, United Kingdom, Wollongong Hospital, Wollongong, NSW, Australia, Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, Hull University Hospitals National Health Service Trust, Hull, United Kingdom, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland, Minnesota Oncology Hematology, Minneapolis, MN, CHU Brest–Institut de Cancerologie et d’Hematologie ARPEGO Network, Brest, France, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom, Hematology Oncology Practice Eppendorf and University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCCH), Hamburg, Germany, University Hospital of Santa Maria, Federal University of Santa Maria, and Viver Research Center, Santa Maria, Brazil, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas, Lima, Peru, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, Department of Medical Oncology, Trinity St. James Cancer Institute, Dublin, Ireland

Research Funding

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA

Background: First-line (1L) treatment of GEJC and EAC is similar to that for gastric adenocarcinomas, based on evidence from 2 large phase 3 gastric and esophageal cancer trials. The phase 3 KEYNOTE-590 trial (NCT03189719) showed 1L pembro + chemo significantly improved OS and PFS in pts with esophageal cancer. The phase 3 KEYNOTE-859 trial (NCT03675737) showed 1L pembro + chemo significantly improved OS, PFS, and ORR in pts with HER2-negative gastric cancer or GEJC. This post hoc, exploratory analysis was conducted to examine the efficacy of 1L pembro + chemo in the GEJC and EAC subgroups of KEYNOTE-590 and the GEJ subgroup of KEYNOTE-859. Methods: Pts with untreated advanced EAC or Siewert type 1 adenocarcinoma of the GEJ (KEYNOTE-590) or HER2-negative GEJ adenocarcinoma (KEYNOTE-859), measurable disease per RECIST v1.1, and ECOG PS 0 or 1 were evaluated. In both studies, pts were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive pembro 200 mg IV or pbo every 3 wk (Q3W) for ≤35 cycles, each with chemo (5-fluorouracil + cisplatin [FP] in KEYNOTE-590; FP or capecitabine + oxaliplatin in KEYNOTE-859). Efficacy end points for this analysis were OS and PFS (per RECIST v1.1 by blinded independent central review) by tumor subtype. Database cutoff was July 2, 2020, for KEYNOTE-590 and July 1, 2022, for KEYNOTE-859. Results: Overall, 201 pts from KEYNOTE-590 (n=99 pembro + chemo; n=102 pbo + chemo) with GEJC or EAC and 334 pts from KEYNOTE-859 (n=149 pembro + chemo; n=185 pbo + chemo) with GEJC were included. In KEYNOTE-590, 91 pts had GEJC only (n=41 pembro + chemo; n=50 pbo + chemo) and 169 (n=82 pembro + chemo; n=87 pbo + chemo) had GEJC + EAC + CPS ≥1. In KEYNOTE-859, 287 pts (n=123 pembro + chemo; n=164 pbo + chemo) had GEJC + CPS ≥1. Demographic and baseline characteristics were well balanced. Median time from randomization to database cutoff for pts with GEJC and EAC was 23.5 mo (range, 15.3-33.6) in KEYNOTE-590 and 25.8 mo (range, 12.4-43.0) in KEYNOTE-859. Efficacy outcomes by tumor type are shown in the Table. Conclusions: Consistent with results from the ITT populations of KEYNOTE-590 and KEYNOTE-859, 1L pembro + chemo provided clinically meaningful improvement in OS and PFS vs chemo in pts with untreated advanced GEJC and EAC. These data support the use of 1L pembro + chemo for pts with advanced GEJC and EAC. Clinical trial information: NCT03189719 and NCT03675737.

Efficacy by tumor type and CPS (pembro vs pbo).

KEYNOTE-590 GEJC n=91KEYNOTE-859 GEJC n=334KEYNOTE-590 GEJC + EAC n=201KEYNOTE-590 GEJC + EAC + CPS ≥1 n=169KEYNOTE-859
GEJC + CPS ≥1 n=287
OS, median, mo12.7 vs 10.014.2 vs 12.011.6 vs 9.913.0 vs 10.114.2 vs 12.1
OS HR (95% CI)0.73 (0.45-1.17)0.74 (0.58-0.94)0.75 (0.55-1.03)0.73 (0.51-1.03)0.71 (0.55-0.93)
PFS, median, mo6.3 vs 6.16.8 vs 5.78.0 vs 5.78.0 vs 5.76.8 vs 5.6
PFS HR (95% CI)0.65 (0.39-1.08)0.78 (0.61-1.01)0.56 (0.40-0.78)0.55 (0.38-0.79)0.76 (0.58-1.00

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session A: Cancers of the Esophagus and Stomach and Other Gastrointestinal Cancers

Track

Esophageal and Gastric Cancer,Other GI Cancer

Sub Track

Therapeutics

Clinical Trial Registration Number

NCT03189719 and NCT03675737

Citation

J Clin Oncol 42, 2024 (suppl 3; abstr 345)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2024.42.3_suppl.345

Abstract #

345

Poster Bd #

G6

Abstract Disclosures