Monotherapy with pembrolizumab led to clinical responses in 89% of patients with unresectable metastatic desmoplastic melanoma, according to results from the phase II S1512 clinical trial presented by Kendra et al at the AACR Annual Meeting 2023. Twenty-four patients had a clinical response to pembrolizumab, resulting in an objective response rate of 89% (9 complete responses and 15 partial responses). The study met its primary endpoint with a complete response rate of 33%, exceeding the prespecified threshold of 20%. Six patients experienced grade 3 or higher adverse events. In a press release from the AACR, presenting author Kari Kendra, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of Cutaneous Oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, commented, “This study identified a subgroup of melanoma patients, those with desmoplastic melanoma, who had an exceptionally high response rate to pembrolizumab monotherapy…. The high responses to pembrolizumab monotherapy indicate that first-line combination therapy may not be necessary for patients with desmoplastic melanoma, which could help patients avoid unnecessary toxicities.”
May 24, 2023