This phase III trial compares the effect of adding chemotherapy to immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) versus immunotherapy alone in treating patients with stage IIIB-IV lung cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving pembrolizumab and chemotherapy may help stabilize lung cancer.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To evaluate whether there is an improvement in overall survival (OS) with chemotherapy combined with pembrolizumab compared to single agent pembrolizumab in this vulnerable older adult patient population. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate any difference in progression free survival (PFS) with chemotherapy combined with pembrolizumab as compared to single agent pembrolizumab. II. To evaluate the difference in PFS rate at 3 months and at 6 months with chemotherapy combined with pembrolizumab as compared to single agent pembrolizumab. III. To evaluate the difference in best objective response rate using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 criteria to assess whether chemotherapy combined with pembrolizumab results in improved response rates compared to treatment with single agent pembrolizumab. IV. To evaluate toxicity in those treated with chemotherapy combined with pembrolizumab compared to those treated with single agent pembrolizumab. V. To evaluate patient reported quality of life (QOL) evaluations between treatment arms. EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES: I. To compare safety and tolerability between treatment arms. II. To explore factors within the pre-treatment geriatric assessment (GA) as predictors of toxicity and outcomes. To describe changes between the intended chemotherapy treatment planned versus treatment given and referrals placed by treating provider based on GA results. III. To evaluate the assessment of a novel, composite fPFS score using disease progression/functional impairment assessment as a potential correlate to OS in this vulnerable population. IV. To evaluate the correlation of 3-months PFS with OS as a potential surrogate of OS benefit. V. To evaluate the correlation of 6-months PFS with OS as a potential surrogate of OS benefit. VI. To assess elective dose intensity of chemotherapy of patients who receive doublet chemotherapy versus single agent chemotherapy. EXPLORATORY CORRELATIVE OBJECTIVE: I. To relate gut microbe abundances to treatment outcomes, toxicity, and geriatric assessments. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM A: INDUCTION: Patients receive pembrolizumab intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes on day 1 of each cycle. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 4 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. MAINTENANCE: Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1 of each cycle. Cycles repeat every 21 or 42 days for 2 years in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. ARM B: INDUCTION: Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1 of each cycle. Patients also receive investigator's choice of a chemotherapy regimen: 1) Pemetrexed IV over 10 minutes + carboplatin IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1 of each cycle; 2) Nab-paclitaxel IV over 30 on days 1, 8, and 15 of each cycle + carboplatin IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1 of each cycle; 3) Paclitaxel IV over 1 hour on day 1, 8, and 15 of each cycle or over 3 hours on day 1 of each cycle + carboplatin IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1 of each cycle; 4) Nab-paclitaxel IV over 30 minutes on days 1, 8 and 15 of each cycle; 5) Paclitaxel IV over 3 hours on day 1 of each cycle or over 1 hour on days 1, 8, and 15 of each cycle; or 6) Pemetrexed IV over 10 minutes on day 1 of each cycle. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 4 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. MAINTENANCE: Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1 of each cycle. Cycles repeat every 21 or 42 days for 2 years in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. All patients undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline and computed tomography (CT) and/or positron emission tomography (PET) on the trial at baseline and throughout the trial. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months if \< 2 years from randomization and every 6 months if 2-5 years from Step 1 registration.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
304
Given IV
Undergo CT scan
Undergo MRI
Given IV
Given IV
Given IV
Given IV
Undergo PET
Ancillary studies
Highlands Oncology Group - Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States
RECRUITINGMercy Hospital Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States
RECRUITINGHighlands Oncology Group - Rogers
Rogers, Arkansas, United States
RECRUITINGHighlands Oncology Group
Springdale, Arkansas, United States
Overall survival (OS)
Will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox proportional hazards models will be used to estimate hazard ratios. Comparison of OS will use a logrank test stratified on the randomization stratification factors with a one-sided type I error rate of 0.025. Other comparisons of groups will be made using the log rank test and Cox modeling.
Time frame: From randomization to death from any cause, and patients who are alive at the time of final analysis will be censored at the last date of contact, assessed up to 5 years
Progression free survival (PFS)
Will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox proportional hazards models will be used to estimate hazard ratios.
Time frame: From randomization to documented disease progression per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 or death from any cause, whichever occurs first, assessed up to 5 years
Six month PFS
Defined as the proportion of patients who remained alive and progression-free at 6 months. Will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox proportional hazards models will be used to estimate hazard ratios.
Time frame: From randomization to documented disease progression per RECIST 1.1 or death from any cause, whichever occurs first, assessed at 6 months
Best objective response
Will be evaluated via RECIST 1.1 criteria. Best objective response rate is defined as the proportion of patients with measurable disease at baseline achieved complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) as best response from the start of the treatment until disease progression/recurrence or start of non-protocol therapy. Patients who do not start treatment and patients who do not have any follow-up disease evaluation and do not meet RECIST criteria for clinical progression are coded as not evaluable. Patients who are not evaluable are included in the calculation of response rates (as non-responders).
Time frame: Up to 5 years
Incidence of adverse events
Toxicity will be determined using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). Toxicity will be assessed by summaries by CTCAE grade.
Time frame: Up to 2 years
Evaluation of quality of life (QOL) measures
Quality of life evaluations will be conducted using questionnaires at time of disease evaluation per Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung version 4. QOL assessment will be gathered and the changes in QOL between the two treatment arms will be compared using Wilcoxon rank sum test. The comparison of changes in QOL using Wilcoxon rank sum test will also be done at 6 months given the high mortality rate in this population and the expectation that we may see differences in OS by that timepoint. Point estimates of all endpoints will be accompanied by the corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Point estimates of OS and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals by sex, race and ethnicity will be provided.
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 months
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Kaiser Permanente Dublin
Dublin, California, United States
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Fremont, California, United States
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