QL1604 plus paclitaxel-cisplatin/ carboplatin in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer: an open-label, single-arm, phase II trial

Objective: QL1604 is a highly selective, humanized monoclonal antibody against programmed death protein 1. We assessed the efficacy and safety of QL1604 plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II study. Patients with advanced cervical cancer and not previously treated with systemic chemotherapy were enrolled to receive QL1604 plus paclitaxel and cisplatin/carboplatin on day 1 of each 21-day cycle for up to 6 cycles, followed by QL1604 maintenance treatment. Results: Forty-six patients were enrolled and the median follow-up duration was 16.5 months. An 84.8% of patients had recurrent disease and 13.0% had stage IVB disease. The objective response rate (ORR) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Advanced Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 was 58.7% (27/46). The immune ORR per immune RECIST was 60.9% (28/46). The median duration of response was 9.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]=5.5–not estimable). The median progression-free survival was 8.1 months (95% CI=5.7–14.0). Forty-five (97.8%) patients experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). The most common grade≥3 TRAEs (>30%) were neutrophil count decrease (50.0%), anemia (32.6%), and white blood cell count decrease (30.4%). Conclusion: QL1604 plus paclitaxel-cisplatin/carboplatin showed promising antitumor activity and manageable safety profile as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor plus chemotherapy may be a potential treatment option for the patient population who have contraindications or can’t tolerate bevacizumab, which needs to be further verified in phase III confirmatory study.