First-Line Danvatirsen Plus Pembrolizumab Fails to Improve Response Rates in Metastatic HNSCC

PEMDA-HN Trial: Key Takeaways The PEMDA-HN trial found that adding the STAT3 anti-sense oligonucleotide danvatirsen to pembrolizumab did not improve ORR compared with pembrolizumab alone in patients with previously untreated, recurrent or metastatic HNSCC.The study was halted early after the second interim analysis because the combination failed to show a significant efficacy benefit vs pembrolizumab monotherapy.Although the safety profile of danvatirsen plus pembrolizumab was considered manageable, patients in the combination arm experienced a higher incidence of certain AEs, compared with those in the control arm.