Site Editor
Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Friday, July 12, 2024
The monoclonal antibody penpulimab combined with chemotherapy may prove to be an effective therapy for newly diagnosed advanced nonmelanoma skin cancer, according to a small, exploratory study by Xu et al, of Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, China, and colleagues. The researchers reported that the combination achieved high response and disease control rates among patients with this rare malignancy subtype as well as a “good” safety profile. The findings were presented at the 2024 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (Abstract e21510).
A total of 15 patients with histologically confirmed stage IIIB to IV basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or appendage carcinoma who received no previous systemic therapy were included in the study. The median age of participants was 66 (range: 42–78), and 86.7% were male. Penpulimab (200 mg every 21 days) was administered on day 1 until disease progression, unacceptable toxic effects, withdrawal of consent, death, or initiation of new antitumor therapy, whichever occurred first. Fluorouracil (2.5 g/m2) and cisplatin or the cisplatin derivative nedaplatin (75 mg/m2) were administered for six cycles.
Among the participants, 46.7% were diagnosed with appendage carcinoma, 40% with squamous cell carcinoma, and 13.3% with basal cell carcinoma. Stage IIIB disease accounted for 26.7% of total cases, and stage IV disease accounted for 73.3%. The investigators reported an objective response rate of 33.3%, a disease control rate of 66.7%, and a median progression-free survival of 3.83 months (range: 1.5–18.7 months).
The researchers further noted that eight patients experienced disease progression, four patients died, and the median overall survival has not yet been reached. Adverse effects occurred in 86.7% of participants, most frequently grade 1 to 2. The most common effects included nausea/vomiting (86.7%), fever (26.7%), thrombocytopenia (26.7%), leukopenia (26.7%), anemia (20%), hypothyroidism (13.3%), hypokalemia (6.7%), and rash (6.7%).
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
JNCCN Spotlights
