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Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Thursday, June 27, 2024
There appears to be an increased risk of disease progression after discontinuing immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma who achieved an initial response, according to a study presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 9596). These patients may maintain their sensitivity to retreatment with similar agents, suggested Andrew Scott Brohl, MD, of Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and colleagues, although additional studies investigating these sensitivities are warranted
A total of 45 patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma were eligible for inclusion in the study. Patients were previously treated with at least one anti–PD-L1 inhibitor for unresectable or metastatic disease. All patients previously achieved stable disease as their initial response to therapy. However, they discontinued treatment for reasons other than disease progression.
Long-term evaluation of the durability of response revealed that 47% achieved a complete response to therapy, and 51% achieved a partial response. Evidence of disease progression was observed in 24% of patients who initially achieved a complete response and 67% of patients who initially achieved a partial response. In addition, 56% of patients chose to electively discontinue treatment, and 44% of patients discontinued treatment because of drug-related toxicity. Furthermore, patients with viral Merkel cell carcinoma had an increased risk of disease progression compared with those who had ultraviolet-associated Merkel cell carcinoma. Moreover, of the 15 patients who were rechallenged with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, 73% achieved an objective response to therapy.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
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