Is this the end of cytotoxic chemotherapy in Merkel cell carcinoma?

Figures & data

Table 1 Patient and tumor characteristics of avelumab and pembrolizumab studies

Studies characteristics	Avelumab^Citation23	Pembrolizumab^Citation22
Phase	II	II
Mechanism of action	IgG1 monoclonal antibody blocking PD1/PD-L1 interaction; ADCC	IgG4 monoclonal antibody blocking PD1/PD-L1 and PD1/PD-L2 interactions
Target	PD-L1	PD1
Number of patients	88	26
Median age (years)	72.5	68
Disease stage	IV	IIIB/IV
Prior lines of therapy	≥1	0
MCPyV-positive, n (%)	46 (52)	17 (65)
PD-L1 positive, n (%)	58 (66)	14 (56)

Abbreviations: IgG, immunoglobulin G; ADCC, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity; PD1, programmed cell death 1; PD-L1, programmed cell death ligand 1; PD-L2, programmed cell death ligand 2; MCPyV, Merkel cell polyomavirus.

KaufmanHLRussellJHamidOAvelumab in patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma: a multicentre, single-group, open-label, phase 2 trialLancet Oncol201617101374138527592805

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NghiemPTBhatiaSLipsonEJPD-1 Blockade with pembrolizumab in advanced merkel-cell carcinomaN Engl J Med2016374262542255227093365

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