Concurrent with its presentation as a Late Breaking Abstract at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently published an international, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial that evaluated the effectiveness of adding Pembrolizumab to the current front-line standard of care for women with advanced primary or recurrent endometrial cancer. Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyDivision of Gynecologic Oncology Director Charles A. Leath, III, MD, MSPH, was named among the investigators the study.

As the fourth lead accruing institution for the trial, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) played a critical role in the success of the trial. The study's primary objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of adding Pembrolizumab to chemotherapy as a treatment for women diagnosed with advanced primary or recurrent endometrial cancer. Pembrolizumab is a type of immunotherapy that stimulates the body's immune system to fight cancer cells.

The participants that received Pembrolizumab in addition to the current front-line standard of care treatment of chemotherapy, specifically paclitaxel plus carboplatin, demonstrated a marked improvement in outcomes as compared to those women who received the chemotherapy alone. Specifically, in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, the addition of pembrolizumab to standard care chemotherapy resulted in significantly longer progression-free survival than with chemotherapy alone.

“With the marked improvement in outcomes as presented and reported in the NEJM publication,” said Leath, “this study will likely lead to a change in the current management of women with advanced primary or recurrent endometrial cancer. It is exceedingly likely that the FDA will approve this combination for use as the preferred primary treatment.”

The potential impacts of this study are significant, as it may lead to a change in the current management of women with advanced primary or recurrent endometrial cancer. By changing the standard of care for these patients, the study may even increase the likelihood of a cure.