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Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Monday, September 30, 2024
According to the secondary outcome analysis of a phase II trial, patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma undergoing combination therapy with the immunotherapies nivolumab and ipilimumab showed largely stable quality of life throughout treatment, with notable improvements in emotional functioning but worsened cognitive and social functioning after treatment. The addition of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) was found to be associated with a decline in quality of life after treatment. Aasha I. Hoogland, PhD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, and colleagues published their results in the journal Cancer Medicine.
“These findings are consistent with prior research on patients treated with single-agent monotherapies,” the investigators noted.
The study evaluated secondary outcomes from a phase II trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03071406) focusing on quality of life among 50 participants with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma. Patients completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 questionnaire at the start of treatment and every 2 weeks thereafter. Treatment consisted of nivolumab and ipilimumab, with half the participants (n = 25) also receiving SBRT.
Using piecewise random-effects mixed models, researchers assessed changes in quality of life during and after treatment. Results revealed that although overall quality of life remained stable during the treatment phase (practical significance > .05), emotional functioning significantly improved (P = .01). After treatment, cognitive and social functioning worsened in patients, especially in the group receiving additional SBRT (practical significance < .01).
Patients treated solely with the nivolumab-plus-ipilimumab combination therapy maintained their quality of life over time, whereas those receiving SBRT along with the combination therapy experienced a significant decline in quality of life after treatment. These findings underscore the importance of considering the potential long-term impact on quality of life when adding SBRT to immunotherapy in the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma.
Disclosure: Dr. Hoogland reported no conflicts of interest. For full disclosures of the other study authors, visit onlinelibrary.wiley.com.
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