Pembrolizumab (pembro) plus axitinib (axi) versus sunitinib as first-line therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC): Outcomes in the combined IMDC intermediate/poor risk and sarcomatoid subgroups of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 study.
Bibliographic record
Abstract
4500 Background: In KEYNOTE-426, pembro + axi significantly improved OS (HR 0.53, P < .0001), PFS (HR 0.69, P = .0001), and ORR (59.3% vs 35.7%, P < .0001) vs sunitinib and had manageable toxicity as first-line therapy for mRCC (NCT02853331). The pembro + axi benefit was observed across all IMDC risk groups and regardless of PD-L1 expression. We present data for the combined intermediate/poor risk group and for patients (pts) with sarcomatoid features. Methods: 861 eligible pts with clear-cell mRCC, no prior systemic therapy for mRCC, and KPS ≥70 were randomized 1:1 to pembro 200 mg IV Q3W for a maximum of 35 cycles plus axi 5 mg orally BID (N = 432) or sunitinib 50 mg orally QD (4-wk on/2-wk off) (N = 429). Primary endpoints were OS and PFS (RECIST v1.1 by blinded, independent central review [BICR]). ORR (RECIST v1.1 by BICR) was the key secondary endpoint. The intermediate/poor risk group was prespecified; the sarcomatoid group was exploratory. HRs and their 95% CIs were calculated with a Cox proportional hazards model. None of the analyses were multiplicity-controlled. Results: 592 (68.8%) of all randomized pts were of IMDC intermediate/poor risk — 294 in the pembro + axi arm, 298 in the sunitinib arm. Pembro + axi improved OS (HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.37-0.74; 12-mo rate 87.3% vs 71.3%), PFS (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.53-0.85; median 12.6 vs 8.2 mo), and ORR (55.8% [95% CI 49.9-61.5] vs 29.5% [24.4-35.1]) in pts with intermediate/poor risk; CR rates were 4.8% (95% CI 2.6-7.9) vs 0.7% (0.1-2.4). Of the 578 pts with known status, 105 (18.2%) had sarcomatoid features — 51 in the pembro + axi arm, 54 in the sunitinib arm. Pembro + axi improved OS (HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.21-1.59; 12-mo rate 83.4% vs 79.5%), PFS (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.29-1.00; median not reached vs 8.4 mo), and ORR (58.8% [95% CI 44.2-72.4] vs 31.5% [19.5-45.6]) in pts with sarcomatoid features; CR rates were 11.8% (95% CI 4.4-23.9) vs 0% (0.0-6.6). Conclusions: Pembro + axi provides benefit in the combined population of pts with IMDC intermediate or poor risk and in pts whose tumors had sarcomatoid features. The observed benefits were consistent with those seen in the total population. Clinical trial information: NCT02853331.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".