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Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Wednesday, July 17, 2024
According to Shlomo A. Koyfman, MD, of Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues, primary immunotherapy monotherapy may be a viable treatment option among patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. The study authors evaluated this neoadjuvant therapy approach in patients with locally advanced disease and concluded that it yielded “impressive and durable” response rates. The results of their initial institutional experience were presented during the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 9585).
The investigators enrolled 36 patients with primary or recurrent, locally advanced, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who were not considered candidates for radiation therapy and/or surgery. Participants were administered intravenously the immune checkpoint inhibitor cemiplimab-rwlc (n = 31) or the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (n = 5). Study endpoints included complete and partial response, stable disease, progressive disease, overall survival, and progression-free survival.
The median follow-up was 13.5 months. Most patients had lesions on the neck and head (88.9%) and/or recurrent disease (72.2%). Immunotherapy was discontinued in 12 patients because of immune-related adverse events. The rates of overall survival and progression-free survival at 1 year were 76% and 72%, respectively; the 2-year survival rates were 64% and 51%.
A complete response was achieved in 15 patients, and a partial response was reported in 14 patients. Stable and progressive disease were identified in three and four patients, respectively. All three stable lesions (100%) and three lesions with a partial response (21.4%) progressed, with a median duration of response of 3 months. In comparison, all lesions with a complete response (100%) and 11 with a partial response (78.5%) remained controlled, with a median duration of response of 15.5 months. After completion of immunotherapy, the median duration of ongoing response was 11 months. Of note, 10 patients who did not report an immune-related adverse event and 0 patients who did experienced progressive disease (P = .035).
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
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