Pembrolizumab Plus Platinum-Based Chemotherapy for Patients With Advanced Penile Cancer

Is pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy effective and well tolerated in patients with advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC)?This phase 2 single-arm nonrandomized clinical trial of 37 patients with advanced PSCC who received pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy demonstrated an overall response rate of 39.4% among the evaluable participants, with a median progression-free survival rate of 5.4 months and a median overall survival rate of 9.6 months. Treatment-related adverse events of grades 3 to 4 occurred in 19 patients (51.4%).These findings suggest that pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy may be a first-line treatment option for patients with advanced PSCC, and that the treatment had a manageable toxic effects profile.

Corresponding Author: Fernando Cotait Maluf, PhD, Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Av. Ipiranga, 6681-Prédio 99A-Sala 1401-Partenon, Porto Alegre-RS, 90619-900, Brazil (maluffc@uol.com.br).

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