Data from a phase II trial indicate that avelumab, an anti PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, is safe and effective in patients with advanced-stage Merkel-cell carcinoma. In a cohort of 88 patients, who were not selected for PD-L1 expression, 28 (31.8%) had an objective response to treatment, including eight complete responses and 20 partial responses, of which 23 patients had an ongoing response at a median of 10.4 months of follow-up monitoring. Grade 3 treatment-related adverse events ocurred in four patients, these events included lymphopenia, and increases in serum creatinine phosphokinase levels, aminotransferase levels and cholesterol levels. No grade 4 treatment-related adverse events ocurred. On the basis of these data, avelumab provides a new treatment option for patients with advanced-stage Merkel-cell carcinoma.
References
Kaufman, H. L. et al. Avelumab in patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma: a multicentre, single-group, open-label, phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(16)30364-3 (2016)
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Sidaway, P. Avelumab effective against Merkel-cell carcinoma. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 13, 652 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.156
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.156