Addition of Pembrolizumab Does Not Significantly Worsen Quality-of-Life Outcomes for Patients With pMMR Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer
According to results from the phase 3 NRG GY018 trial, the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy did not significantly worsen patient-reported quality of life outcomes among patients with proficient mismatch repair advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.
These results were presented by Lari Wenzel, PhD, University of California, Irvine, California, at the 2025 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer in Seattle, Washington.
For this analysis, researchers pulled patient-reported data from 511 patients who received 13 cycles of either pembrolizumab (n = 255) or placebo (n = 256) plus chemotherapy. Assessments were conducted using the FACT-Endometrial Trial Outcome Index, the PROMIS-Fatigue short form, and the PROMIS-Physical Function short form. Patients completed forms at pretreatment (week 0), active treatment (weeks 6 and 18), the chemotherapy recovery phase (week 30), and suspected median progression-free survival (week 52).
Using the FACT-Endometrial Trial Outcome Index, patient-reported score means were 94.5 in the pembrolizumab arm and 95.3 in the placebo arm at baseline, 94.1 and 92 at week 6, 93.4 and 90.3 at week 18, 95.7 and 94.6 at week 30, and 93.5 and 96.8 at week 52. Using the PROMIS-Fatigue short form, patient-reported score means were 16.8 in the pembrolizumab arm and 16.9 in the placebo arm at baseline, 17.8 and 18.5 at week 6, 18.4 and 19.6 at week 18, 17.2 and 18 at week 30, and 19 and 16.9 at week 52.
“Pembrolizumab with chemotherapy had nominally worse effects on quality of life during the combination portion of the trial that did not meet statistical significance,” concluded Dr Wenzel. These patient-reported outcomes “provided important information for clinical guidance and education.”
Source:
Wenzel L, Huang H, Cella D, et al. Patient-reported outcomes of the phase III randomized, placebo-controlled study of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for advanced endometrial cancer: NRG GY018. Presented at the 2025 SGO Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. March 14-17, 2025; Seattle, WA. Abstract 940295.
