Patient-reported outcomes in KEYNOTE-087, a phase 2 study of pembrolizumab in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma

A Review of Meaningful Change Thresholds for EORTC QLQ-C30 and FACT-G Within Oncology

OBJECTIVES

This literature review provides an overview of meaningful change thresholds for the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G) used across hematological cancers and solid tumors (melanoma, lung, bladder, and prostate).

METHODS

Embase, MEDLINE, and PubMed were searched to identify relevant oncology publications from 2016 to 2021. Label claims from the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for 7 recently approved drugs (pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, glasdegib, gilteritinib, tisagenlecleucel, axicabtagene ciloleucel, and daratumumab plus hyaluronidase-fihj) were reviewed.

RESULTS

Publications providing guidance on meaningful change thresholds for the QLQ-C30 displayed a growing trend away from broad "legacy" thresholds of 10 points for all QLQ-C30 scales), toward deriving "contemporary" thresholds (eg, subscale specific, population specific). Contemporary publications generally provide guidance on selecting thresholds for specific scales that account for improved or worsening thresholds (eg, QLQ-C30 subscales). This trend was not clear for FACT-G, with less new guidance available. Most clinical trials used in regulatory label submissions have used thresholds of 10 points for the QLQ-C30 subscales and 3 to 7 points for the FACT-G total score. Despite the availability of more recent guidelines, contemporary meaningful change thresholds seem slow to emerge in the published literature and regulatory labels.

CONCLUSIONS

Trialists should consider using contemporary thresholds, rather than legacy thresholds, for QLQ-C30 endpoints. Thresholds derived for a similar patient-population should be used where available. Further work is required to provide these across a broader range of cancer sites.

Nivolumab and Doxorubicin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine in Early-Stage Unfavorable Hodgkin Lymphoma: Final Analysis of the Randomized German Hodgkin Study Group Phase II NIVAHL Trial

Clinical trials frequently include multiple end points that mature at different times. The initial report, typically based on the primary end point, may be published when key planned co-primary or secondary analyses are not yet available. Clinical Trial Updates provide an opportunity to disseminate additional results from studies, published in JCO or elsewhere, for which the primary end point has already been reported.In the investigator-sponsored randomized phase II NIVAHL trial for early-stage unfavorable classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), two schedules of four cycles of nivolumab, doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine followed by 30 Gy involved-site radiotherapy resulted in high complete remission rates and an unprecedented 1-year progression-free survival in 109 patients. In this article, we report the preplanned final analysis conducted three years after the registration of the last patient including long-term safety results. No survival events were observed since the primary analysis, and after a median follow-up (FU) of 41 months, the overall survival was 100% in both treatment groups. The progression-free survival was 98% and 100% in the sequential and concomitant nivolumab, doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine treatment groups, respectively. At last FU, the mean forced expiratory pressure in one second was 95.5% (standard deviation 12.7%), the mean diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide adjusted for hemoglobin was 82.8% (standard deviation 15.4%), and the left ventricular ejection fraction was in the normal range in 95% of patients. Hypothyroidism requiring long-term medication occurred in 15% of patients, who were nearly exclusively female (87%). No second primary malignancies occurred, and no patient required corticosteroid treatment at last FU. Patient-reported normalized global quality-of-life score measured by European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 improved over time. This preplanned FU analysis of the largest anti-programmed death protein 1 HL first-line trial to date confirms the outstanding efficacy and relatively favorable safety profile of this therapeutic approach.

Immunotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma: From monoclonal antibodies to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy

Although up to 80 % of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients are cured with first-line therapy, relapsed/refractory HL remains a major clinical obstacle and is fatal for patients who are not candidates for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or relapse after treatment. Several immune-based approaches have been investigated in recent years with the aim of exerting a possible antitumor effect through the immune system response to cancer cells. Clinical studies on novel agents, including brentuximab vedotin (BV) and PD-1 inhibitors, have successfully demonstrated their effectiveness in relapsed disease after ASCT. Additionally, studies examining combination strategies with the goal of reducing the risk of relapse and chemotherapy-related toxicity have showed encouraging results, mainly in untreated early unfavorable or advanced stage classical HL (cHL). Other non-approved immunotherapies such as camidanlumab tesirine, bispecific CD30/CD16A antibody, and CD30 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy are promising approaches that may reinforce the therapeutic arsenal available to patients.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy is associated with less cardiac toxicity than combination therapy

BACKGROUND

Treatment options for many cancers include immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy and combination therapy with impressive clinical benefit across cancers. We sought to define the comparative cardiac risks of ICI combination and monotherapy.

METHODS

We used VigiBase, the World Health Organization pharmacovigilance database, to identify cardiac ADRs (cADRs), such as carditis, heart failure, arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, and valvular dysfunction, related to ICI therapy. To explore possible relationships, we used the reporting odds ratio (ROR) as a proxy of relative risk. A lower bound of a 95% confidence interval of ROR > 1 reflects a disproportionality signal that more ADRs are observed than expected due to chance.

RESULTS

We found 2278 cADR for ICI monotherapy and 353 for ICI combination therapy. Combination therapy was associated with significantly higher odds of carditis (ROR 6.9, 95% CI: 5.6-8.3) versus ICI monotherapy (ROR 5.0, 95% CI: 4.6-5.4). Carditis in ICI combination therapy was fatal in 23.4% of reported ADRs, compared to 15.8% for ICI monotherapy (P = 0.058).

CONCLUSIONS

Using validated pharmacovigilance methodology, we found increased odds of carditis for all ICI therapies, with the highest odds for combination therapy. Given the substantial risk of severe ADR and death, clinicians should consider these findings when prescribing checkpoint inhibitors.

Patient-reported symptom burden in patients with rare cancers receiving pembrolizumab in a phase II Clinical Trial

Patients with rare solid tumors treated on early phase trials experience toxicities from their tumors and treatments. However, limited data exist to describe the detailed symptom burden suffered by these patients, particularly those with rare solid tumors treated with immunotherapy. We performed a prospective longitudinal study to capture patient-reported symptom burden. Patients completed the validated MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI)—Immunotherapy with 20 symptoms including 7 immunotherapy-specific items and 6 interference items at baseline and weekly thereafter for up to 9 weeks. Symptoms and interference were rated on 0–10 scales (0 = none or no interference, 10 = worst imaginable or complete interference). Group-based trajectory modelling determined higher and lower symptom groups. A total of 336 MDASI questionnaires were completed by 53 patients (mean age 55.4y, 53% male) with advanced rare cancers receiving pembrolizumab in a Phase II clinical trial. Symptoms reported as most severe over the course of the treatment over 9 weeks were fatigue [mean (M) = 3.8, SD = 2.3], pain (M = 3.7, SD = 2.9), disturbed sleep (M = 2.7, SD = 2.3), drowsiness (M = 2.6, SD = 2.0) and lack of appetite (M = 2.5, SD = 2.1). Pain in the abdomen (M = 2.2, SD = 2.4), rash (M = 1.1, SD = 1.8) and diarrhea (M = 0.9, SD = 1.5) were less severe. Interference with walking was rated the highest (M = 3.4, SD = 2.8) and relations with others was rated the lowest (M = 2.1, SD = 2.6). Using a composite score based on the five most severe symptoms (fatigue, pain, lack of appetite, feeling drowsy and sleep disturbance), 43% were classified into the high symptom burden group. Using a score based on immunotherapy-specific symptoms (e.g., rash, diarrhea) 33% of patients were included in the high symptom group. Symptom burden stayed relatively stable in the high- and low-symptom burden patient groups from baseline through 9 weeks. Some patients with rare malignancies experienced high symptom burden even at baseline. In patients with rare cancers, symptom trajectories stayed relatively stable over nine weeks of treatment with pembrolizumab.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02721732.

A systematic literature review of the epidemiology, quality of life, and economic burden, including disease pathways and treatment patterns of relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma

INTRODUCTION

A systematic literature review was conducted to understand disease burden in patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R cHL).

AREAS COVERED

Embase®, PubMed®, and Cochrane were searched for records from 2001 to 2020 in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A total of 13,257 abstracts and 1731 papers were screened; 144 studies were identified. cHL accounted for 0.5% of all cancers, with 4‒66.7% of cases progressing to R/R disease (studies with >500 patients); this range varied across countries. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed via EORTC-QLQ-C30 (n = 7), EQ-5D (n = 5), SF-36 (n = 3), FACIT-F (n = 1), and MFI (n = 1) questionnaires. In general, pembrolizumab and other programmed cell death protein-1 inhibitors improved QoL scores. Brentuximab vedotin showed mixed outcomes, and high-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous stem-cell rescue (ASCR) showed worsening functionality/symptoms. Economic burden studies (n = 21) reported increased costs and health care resource in R/R cHL. Across clinical guidelines (n = 13) and treatment pattern studies (n = 46), HDT followed by ASCR was recommended as initial R/R cHL treatment. Pembrolizumab and nivolumab were frequently recommended for patients relapsing following HDT/ASCR.

EXPERT OPINION

Despite recent treatment advances, patients with R/R cHL continue to report reduced quality of life. Unmet medical needs remain, particularly with respect to slowing disease progression and identifying the best treatment approaches for improving longer-term survival and quality of life. This systematic literature review provides an extensive overview of the current landscape in patients with R/R cHL, focusing on four key areas: epidemiology, QoL, economic burden, and disease management. These findings will be useful to those with an interest in managing patients with R/R cHL or in designing future studies.

An evaluation of pembrolizumab for classical Hodgkin lymphoma

INTRODUCTION

Pembrolizumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) targeted against the programmed death 1 (PD-1) pathway, a key pathway in the biology of Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Anti-PD-1 antibodies are approved for use in relapsed/refractory cHL but ongoing studies continue to optimize the use of this treatment.

AREAS COVERED

This review highlights recent and established data regarding pembrolizumab in the management of relapsed/refractory cHL and emerging areas of study including translational biology, combinations with chemotherapy and trials earlier in the disease courseExpert Opinion: Pembrolizumab provides superior progression free survival for patients with cHL who relapse post autologous stem cell transplant or who have chemotherapy refractory disease and should be used in these high risk populations. A key challenge remains the development of predictive biomarkers for anti-PD1 antibodies. There is promising evidence of the improved efficacy of salvage chemotherapy regimens and frontline regimens incorporating pembrolizumab but larger randomized studies are needed to demonstrate clear patient benefit.

Advances in Hodgkin Lymphoma: Including the Patient's Voice

Since the initial treatment with radiation therapy in the 1950s, the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma has continued to evolve, balancing cure and toxicity. This approach has resulted in low rates of relapse and death and fewer short and late toxicities from the treatments used in pursuit of cure. To achieve this balance, the field has continued to progress into an exciting era where the advent of more targeted therapies such as brentuximab vedotin, immunotherapies such as PD-1 inhibitors, and chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T) targeted at CD30 are changing the landscape. As in the past, cooperative group and international collaborations are key to continuing to drive the science forward. Increased focus on patient-reported outcomes can further contribute to the goal of improved outcomes by examining the impact on the individual patient in the acute phase of therapy and on long-term implications for survivors. The goals of this review are to summarize recent and current clinical trials including reduction or elimination of radiation, immunotherapies and biologically-targeted agents, and discuss the use of patient-reported outcomes to help discern directions for new therapeutic regimens and more individualized evaluation of the balance of cure and toxicity.

Quality-of-life analysis of pembrolizumab vs brentuximab vedotin for relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma

Pembrolizumab improved health-related quality of life over brentuximab vedotin in patients with relapsed/refractory cHL

Pembrolizumab should be considered the preferred treatment option for relapsed/refractory cHL post-ASCT or in patients ineligible for ASCT

KEYNOTE-204 (NCT02684292) demonstrated a progression-free survival advantage for pembrolizumab over brentuximab vedotin (BV) in patients who had relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R cHL) following, or who were ineligible for, autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), measured by patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from KEYNOTE-204, are reported from patients who received ≥1 dose of study treatment and completed ≥1 PRO assessment. The EORTC QoL Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and EuroQoL EQ-5D were administered at baseline, every 6 weeks until week 24, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Prespecified end points included least squares mean (LSM) changes from baseline to week 24 and time to true deterioration (TTD; ≥10-point decline from baseline). Comparisons were evaluated using 2-sided P values uncontrolled for multiplicity. High compliance at baseline (>90%) and through week 24 (>80%) was demonstrated across treatment groups (PRO analysis set: pembrolizumab, n = 146; BV, n = 150). The EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status (GHS)/quality of life (QoL) score improved from baseline to week 24 on pembrolizumab and worsened on BV and demonstrated significant LSM differences at 24 weeks (GHS/QoL: 8.60 [95% confidence interval, 3.89-13.31]; P = .0004). Significant improvements were observed in each QLQ-C30 domain except emotional and cognitive functioning. Compared with BV, pembrolizumab prolonged TTD for GHS/QoL (hazard ratio, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.22-0.74]; P = .003) and each QLQ-C30 domain except cognitive functioning. In conclusion, pembrolizumab demonstrated overall improvements in PROs of HRQoL measures over BV in the KEYNOTE-204 study. These data and previously reported efficacy results support pembrolizumab as the preferred treatment option for patients with R/R cHL who are ineligible for or experience relapse after ASCT.

Effect of lisocabtagene maraleucel on HRQoL and symptom severity in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma

CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has shown efficacy as a third-line or later treatment in patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). Using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire, we evaluated the impact of CAR T-cell treatment with lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptoms in patients with relapsed/refractory LBCL in the ongoing, open-label, nonrandomized TRANSCEND NHL 001 trial. Clinically meaningful improvement was observed in EORTC QLQ-C30 scores for global health status/QoL, based on a minimally important difference of 10 points at 2 to 18 months after liso-cel infusion. There were no clinically meaningful changes in physical functioning and pain, whereas clinically meaningful improvements were observed in fatigue at 2, 12, and 18 months. The proportion of patients with clinically meaningful improvement in global health status/QoL was generally higher for treatment responders than for nonresponders. A trend toward decreased mean EQ-5D-5L index scores was observed at 1 month after liso-cel infusion, followed by subsequent increases through 18 months. Mean EQ-5D-5L visual analog scale scores increased from 2 through 18 months. In summary, patients with relapsed/refractory LBCL treated with liso-cel had early, sustained, and clinically meaningful improvements in HRQoL and symptoms that correlated with antitumor activity. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02631044.

Nephrotoxicity in immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: a pharmacovigilance study

BACKGROUND

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has demonstrated impressive clinical benefits across cancers. However, adverse drug reactions (ADR) occur in every organ system, often due to autoimmune syndromes. We sought to investigate the association between ICI therapy and nephrotoxicity using a pharmacovigilance database, hypothesizing that inflammatory nephrotoxic syndromes, would be reported more frequently in association with ICIs.

METHODS

We analyzed VigiBase, the WHO pharmacovigilance database, to identify renal ADRs (rADRs), such as nephritis, nephropathy, and vascular disorders, reported in association with ICI therapy. We performed a disproportionality analysis to explore if rADRs were reported at a different rate with one of the ICI drugs compared to rADRs in the entire database, using an empirical Bayes estimator as a significance screen and defining the effect size with a reporting odds ratio (ROR).

RESULTS

We found 2,341 rADR for all examined ICI drugs, with a disproportionality signal solely for nephritis (ROR 3.67, 95% CI: 3.34-4.04). Examining the different drugs separately, pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and ipilimumab+nivolumab combination therapy had significantly higher reporting odds of nephritis than the other ICI drugs (ROR 4.54, 95%CI: 3.81-5.4; ROR 3.94, 95%CI: 3.40-4.56; ROR 3.59, 95%CI: 2.71-4.76; respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Using a pharmacovigilance method, we found increased odds of nephritis when examining renal ADRs associated with ICI therapy. Pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and a combination of ipilimumab plus nivolumab showed the highest odds. Clinicians should consider these findings and be aware of the increased risk of nephritis, especially in patients treated with pembrolizumab, when administering ICI therapy.

Pembrolizumab for the treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma

INTRODUCTION

Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is a cancer of the immune system. Combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy result in high cure rate, nevertheless, up to a quarter of patients with advanced stage cHL may relapse. One mechanism of relapse is through immune evasion; cHL can avoid immune destruction by manipulating T cell regulatory protein programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligands 1 (PD-L1) and 2 (PD-L2) interaction. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs), such as pembrolizumab are effective in relapsed/refractory (R/R) cHL.

AREAS COVERED

We reviewed prior and ongoing investigation of pembrolizumab use in R/R cHL, maintenance after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and in frontline setting. Phase I study of pembrolizumab (KEYNOTE-013) demonstrated safety in R/R cHL with subsequent phase II study (KEYNOTE-087) confirmed efficacy signal. Intriguing early data support the use of maintenance pembrolizumab after ASCT in high-risk cHL patients. Second line and frontline studies incorporating CPIs have demonstrated promising efficacy with no significant additive toxicities.

EXPERT OPINION

Immune CPIs that block PD-1/PD-L1 and PD-L2 interaction are an effective strategy in R/R cHL. Pembrolizumab demonstrated safety and efficacy in the treatment of R/R cHL. The optimal utilization of pembrolizumab in frontline therapy is under investigation.

Patient-reported outcome instruments used in immune-checkpoint inhibitor clinical trials in oncology: a systematic review

Context

Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have shown significant benefits for overall survival across various cancer types. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are assessed in clinical trials as a measure of efficacy. However, it remains unclear to what extent current PRO instruments capture symptoms specific to ICI toxicities. We conducted a systematic review to identify the use and content validity of PRO instruments in ICI clinical trials in oncology.

Methods

Literature was retrieved from PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Medline and CINAHL databases. Articles presenting ICI clinical trials’ PRO results, clinical trial study protocols, and conference abstracts stating the use of PRO measures were assessed. We evaluated the validity of identified instruments by comparing their symptom-related content with the adverse events reported in each ICI clinical trial.

Results

From database inception until January 2020, we identified 191 ICI clinical trials stating the use of PRO measures of which 26 published PRO results. The cancer-specific EORTC QLQ-C30 and the generic EQ-5D questionnaires were the most widely used instruments, often in combination with disease-specific PROs. Instruments used to report PRO symptom-related toxicities covered 45% of the most frequently reported AEs, whereas 23% of AEs were partially covered and 29% were not covered at all. Of non-covered AEs, 59% referred to the dermatologic system. Partially covered AEs related to endocrine and specific types of pain.

Conclusion

Despite the high frequency of symptom-related toxicities related to ICI, these events are only partially covered (or not addressed) by current PRO instruments, even when combined. Further research is needed to develop new strategies to tailor PRO instruments to specific ICI toxicities.