Quality-of-life analysis of pembrolizumab vs brentuximab vedotin for relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

KEYNOTE-204 (NCT02684292) demonstrated progression-free survival (PFS) advantage for pembrolizumab over brentuximab vedotin (BV) in patients who had relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R cHL) following, or who were ineligible for, autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), measured by patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from KEYNOTE-204, are reported from patients who received ≥1 dose of study treatment and completed ≥1 PRO assessment. QLQ-C30 and EuroQoL EQ-5D were administered at baseline, every 6 weeks until week 24, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Prespecified end points included least squares mean (LSM) changes from baseline to week 24 and time to deterioration (TTD; ≥10-point decline from baseline). Comparisons were evaluated using two-sided P values uncontrolled for multiplicity. High compliance at baseline (>90%) and through week 24 (>80%) was demonstrated across treatment groups (PRO analysis set: pembrolizumab, N=146; BV, N=150). QLQ-C30 Global Health Status (GHS)/quality of life (QoL) improved from baseline to week 24 on pembrolizumab and worsened on BV, demonstrating significant LSM differences at 24 weeks (GHS/QoL: 8.60 [95% CI, 3.89-13.31]; P = 0.0004) and each QLQ-C30 domain, except emotional and cognitive functioning. Compared with BV, pembrolizumab prolonged TTD for GHS/QoL (HR, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.22-0.74]; P = 0.003) and each QLQ-C30 domain except cognitive functioning. In conclusion, pembrolizumab demonstrated overall improvements in PROs of HRQoL measures over BV in the KEYNOTE-204 study. These data and previously reported efficacy results support pembrolizumab as the preferred treatment option for patients with R/R cHL who are ineligible for or experience relapse after ASCT.