Checkpoint inhibitors: a new standard of care for advanced Merkel cell carcinoma?
Mené sur 88 patients atteints d'un carcinome à cellules de Merkel de stade IV ayant progressé après une chimiothérapie, cet essai international de phase II évalue l'efficacité, du point de vue du taux de réponse objective complète ou partielle, et la toxicité de l'avélumab, un anticorps monoclonal anti PD-L1
Merkel cell carcinoma represents a rare group of cutaneous malignancies, which typically develop in the sun-damaged skin of elderly individuals and often in immunosuppressed patients. Locally advanced and metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma have a grave prognosis, and until recently, the European inter-disciplinary consensus-based guidelines recommended clinical trials as a standard of care. However, in reality, patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma receive platinum-based chemotherapies, which have a limited and short-lived clinical efficacy.
The Lancet Oncology , commentaire, 2015