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Study of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) Versus Platinum-Based Chemotherapy for Participants With Programmed Cell Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1)-Positive Advanced or Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (MK-3475-042/KEYNOTE-042)

Phase 3
Completed
Conditions
Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT02220894
Lead Sponsor
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Brief Summary

In this study, participants with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will be randomized to receive single agent pembrolizumab for up to 35 treatments or standard of care (SOC) platinum-based chemotherapy (carboplatin + paclitaxel or carboplatin + pemetrexed for 4 to 6 21-day cycles). Participants in the platinum-based chemotherapy arms with non-squamous tumor histologies may receive pemetrexed maintenance therapy after the 4 to 6 cycles of chemotherapy. The primary study hypothesis is that pembrolizumab prolongs overall survival (OS) compared to SOC chemotherapy.

Detailed Description

Pembrolizumab-treated participants, who attain a confirmed complete response (CR) or who stop trial treatment after 35 administrations of study medication for reasons other than disease progression or intolerability, may consider stopping trial treatment. These participants may be eligible for re-treatment with pembrolizumab monotherapy after they have experienced radiographic disease according to protocol-defined criteria. Response or progression in the Second Course Phase will not count towards the objective response rate (ORR) and progression free survival (PFS) endpoints in this trial.

The global study for MK-3475-042 enrolled 1274 participants. Of the 1274 total participants enrolled in the global study, 92 were also enrolled in the China extension study for MK-3475-042 (NCT03850444).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
1274
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
PembrolizumabpembrolizumabParticipants receive pembrolizumab 200 mg intravenous (IV) on Day 1 of every 21-day cycle (every 3 weeks, or Q3W) for up to 35 treatments.
SOC TreatmentpaclitaxelParticipants receive carboplatin target dose Area Under Curve (AUC) 5 (maximum dose 750 mg) or AUC 6 (maximum dose 900 mg) + paclitaxel 200 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of every 21-day cycle (Q3W) for a maximum of 6 cycles OR carboplatin target dose AUC 5 (maximum dose 750 mg) or AUC 6 (maximum dose 900 mg) + pemetrexed 500 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 Q3W for a maximum of 6 cycles; participants with non-squamous histologies may go on to receive optional treatment with pemetrexed 500 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 Q3W.
SOC TreatmentcarboplatinParticipants receive carboplatin target dose Area Under Curve (AUC) 5 (maximum dose 750 mg) or AUC 6 (maximum dose 900 mg) + paclitaxel 200 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of every 21-day cycle (Q3W) for a maximum of 6 cycles OR carboplatin target dose AUC 5 (maximum dose 750 mg) or AUC 6 (maximum dose 900 mg) + pemetrexed 500 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 Q3W for a maximum of 6 cycles; participants with non-squamous histologies may go on to receive optional treatment with pemetrexed 500 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 Q3W.
SOC TreatmentpemetrexedParticipants receive carboplatin target dose Area Under Curve (AUC) 5 (maximum dose 750 mg) or AUC 6 (maximum dose 900 mg) + paclitaxel 200 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 of every 21-day cycle (Q3W) for a maximum of 6 cycles OR carboplatin target dose AUC 5 (maximum dose 750 mg) or AUC 6 (maximum dose 900 mg) + pemetrexed 500 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 Q3W for a maximum of 6 cycles; participants with non-squamous histologies may go on to receive optional treatment with pemetrexed 500 mg/m\^2 IV on Day 1 Q3W.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Overall Survival (OS) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥50%Up to approximately 44 months

OS was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥50% and was defined as the time from randomization to death due to any cause. Participants without documented death at the time of the interim analysis were censored at the date of the last follow-up. The OS was calculated using the product-limit (Kaplan-Meier) method for censored data. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was OS in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The OS for participants with a TPS ≥50% is presented.

Overall Survival (OS) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥20%Up to approximately 44 months

OS was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥20% and was defined as the time from randomization to death due to any cause. Participants without documented death at the time of the interim analysis were censored at the date of the last follow-up. The OS was calculated using the product-limit (Kaplan-Meier) method for censored data. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was OS in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The OS for participants with a TPS ≥20% is presented.

Overall Survival (OS) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥1%Up to approximately 44 months

OS was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥1% and was defined as the time from randomization to death due to any cause. Participants without documented death at the time of the interim analysis were censored at the date of the last follow-up. The OS was calculated using the product-limit (Kaplan-Meier) method for censored data. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was OS in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The OS for participants with a TPS ≥1% is presented.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Progression-Free Survival (PFS) Per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) as Assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥50%Up to approximately 44 months

PFS was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥50% and was defined as the time from randomization to the first documented progressive disease (PD) or death due to any cause, whichever occurred first. Per RECIST 1.1, PD was defined as ≥20% increase in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the smallest sum on study. In addition to the relative increase of 20%, the sum must also demonstrate an absolute increase of ≥5 mm. The appearance of one or more new lesions was also considered PD. The PFS per RECIST 1.1 was calculated using the product-limit (Kaplan-Meier) method for censored data. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was PFS in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The PFS for participants with a TPS ≥50% is presented.

Progression-Free Survival (PFS) Per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) as Assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥20%Up to approximately 44 months

PFS was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥20% and was defined as the time from randomization to the first documented progressive disease (PD) or death due to any cause, whichever occurred first. Per RECIST 1.1, PD was defined as ≥20% increase in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the smallest sum on study. In addition to the relative increase of 20%, the sum must also demonstrate an absolute increase of ≥5 mm. The appearance of one or more new lesions was also considered PD. The PFS per RECIST 1.1 was calculated using the product-limit (Kaplan-Meier) method for censored data. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was PFS in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The PFS for participants with a TPS ≥20% is presented.

Progression-Free Survival (PFS) Per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) as Assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥1%Up to approximately 44 months

PFS was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥1% and was defined as the time from randomization to the first documented progressive disease (PD) or death due to any cause, whichever occurred first. Per RECIST 1.1, PD was defined as ≥20% increase in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the smallest sum on study. In addition to the relative increase of 20%, the sum must also demonstrate an absolute increase of ≥5 mm. The appearance of one or more new lesions was also considered PD. The PFS per RECIST 1.1 was calculated using the product-limit (Kaplan-Meier) method for censored data. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was PFS in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The PFS for participants with a TPS ≥1% is presented.

Objective Response Rate (ORR) Per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) as Assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥50%Up to approximately 44 months

ORR was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥50%. ORR was determined per RECIST 1.1 and was defined as the percentage of participants in the analysis population who had a Complete Response (CR: Disappearance of all target lesions) or a Partial Response (PR: ≥30% decrease in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum diameters) per RECIST 1.1. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was ORR in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The percentage of participants who had a TPS ≥50% and who experienced a CR or PR is presented.

Objective Response Rate (ORR) Per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) as Assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥20%Up to approximately 44 months

ORR was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥20%. ORR was determined per RECIST 1.1 and was defined as the percentage of participants in the analysis population who had a Complete Response (CR: Disappearance of all target lesions) or a Partial Response (PR: ≥30% decrease in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum diameters) per RECIST 1.1. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was ORR in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The percentage of participants who had a TPS ≥20% and who experienced a CR or PR is presented.

Objective Response Rate (ORR) Per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) as Assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) in Participants With a Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥1%Up to approximately 44 months

ORR was determined for participants with a TPS of ≥1%. ORR was determined per RECIST 1.1 and was defined as the percentage of participants in the analysis population who had a Complete Response (CR: Disappearance of all target lesions) or a Partial Response (PR: ≥30% decrease in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum diameters) per RECIST 1.1. The efficacy hypothesis was analyzed using a sequential testing strategy that involved testing a hypothesis only if the superiority of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy was established for all the preceding hypotheses. The order of testing was ORR in participants with TPS≥50%, then with TPS≥20%, and finally with TPS≥1%. The percentage of participants who had a TPS ≥1% and who experienced a CR or PR is presented.

Number of Participants Who Experienced At Least One Adverse Event (AE)Up to approximately 38 months

An AE was defined as any untoward medical occurrence in a participant administered a study treatment and which does not necessarily have to have a causal relationship with this treatment. An AE could therefore be any unfavorable and unintended sign, symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a medicinal product or protocol-specified procedure, whether or not considered related to the study treatment or protocol-specified procedure. Any worsening (i.e., any clinically significant adverse change in frequency and/or intensity) of a pre-existing condition that was temporally associated with the use of study treatment, was also an AE. The number of participants who experienced at least one AE is presented.

Number of Participants Who Discontinued Study Treatment Due to an Adverse Event (AE)Up to approximately 35 months

An AE was defined as any untoward medical occurrence in a participant administered a study treatment and which did not necessarily have to have a causal relationship with this treatment. An AE could therefore be any unfavorable and unintended sign, symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a medicinal product or protocol-specified procedure, whether or not considered related to the study treatment or protocol-specified procedure. Any worsening (i.e., any clinically significant adverse change in frequency and/or intensity) of a pre-existing condition that was temporally associated with the use of study treatment, was also an AE. The number of participants who discontinued study treatment due to an AE is presented.

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