Dr. Graff on the Safety of Checkpoint Inhibition in mCRPC

Julie N. Graff, MD, associate professor of medicine, Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute, discusses the safety profile of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus enzalutamide (Xtandi) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

Now that checkpoint inhibitors are approved for use in several disease states, the risks with these agents are becoming more well-known, explains Graff. The combination of enzalutamide and pembrolizumab, or any PD-1 inhibitor, appears to result in more rashes for patients with mCRPC, says Graff.

Results of the KETNOTE-199 trial, in which patients with mCRPC received pembrolizumab plus enzalutamide, showed that 25% of patients developed a rash. Of those cases, only 1 was grade 3 and required intravenous steroids. The rest of the patients were managed with topical or oral steroids. Otherwise, the safety profile of pembrolizumab plus enzalutamide was as expected, concludes Graff.