Randomized comparator-controlled study evaluating efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab plus Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in patients with high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR NMIBC): KEYNOTE-676 cohort B.

Abstract

TPS597 Background: Cohort A of the phase 2 KEYNOTE-057 study showed that pembrolizumab monotherapy provided effective antitumor activity and acceptable safety in patients with BCG-unresponsive HR NMIBC with carcinoma in situ (CIS). Pembrolizumab in combination with BCG at earlier stages of HR NMIBC might provide benefit superior to that of BCG monotherapy. The open-label, comparator-controlled, phase 3 KEYNOTE-676 study (NCT03711032) will be conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab + BCG versus BCG monotherapy in patients with HR NMIBC. Cohort A will enroll patients with persistent or recurrent HR NMIBC after BCG induction. Cohort B is a new, randomly assigned cohort that will help evaluate pembrolizumab + BCG in BCG treatment–naive patients who either never received BCG treatment or received BCG treatment > 2 years before enrollment. Methods: Cohort B of KEYNOTE-676 will enroll approximately 975 patients with blinded independent central review (BICR)–confirmed HR NMIBC (T1, high-grade Ta CIS) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score 0-2 who underwent cystoscopy/transurethral resection of bladder tumor ≤12 weeks before randomization and had not received BCG within the past 2 years. Patients will be randomly assigned 1:1:1 to receive pembrolizumab 400 mg intravenously (IV) every 6 weeks (Q6W) + BCG reduced maintenance (≤6 months), pembrolizumab 400 mg IV Q6W + BCG full maintenance (≤18 months), or BCG monotherapy (BCG full maintenance). Stratification factors include NMIBC stage (CIS or no CIS) and PD-L1 expression (combined positive score [CPS] ≥10 or CPS < 10), determined by central laboratory. Disease status will be assessed by use of cystoscopy, urine cytology, and biopsy (as applicable) every 12 weeks (Q12W) through year 2, then every 24 weeks through year 5; imaging with computed tomography urography will occur every 72 weeks. Adverse events (AEs) will be monitored throughout the study and up to 30 days after cessation of study treatment (90 days for serious AEs). The primary end point is event-free survival (EFS). Secondary end points include complete response rate by BICR, duration of response (DOR), 12-month DOR rate (CIS only), 24-month EFS rate, disease-specific survival, time to cystectomy, overall survival, and safety. The study is enrolling or planning to enroll at sites in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Clinical trial information: NCT03711032.