Phase 3 Study of Pembrolizumab with Carboplatin and Taxane Followed by Maintenance Pembrolizumab with or without Sacituzumab Tirumotecan for First-line Treatment of Metastatic Squamous Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating pembrolizumab combined with carboplatin and taxane chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer NSCLC. This phase 3 trial aims to compare overall survival between patients receiving pembrolizumab with maintenance sacituzumab tirumotecan sac-TMT and those receiving pembrolizumab alone during maintenance therapy. The study explores whether the addition of sac-TMT improves outcomes for patients with this type of lung cancer. Participants first undergo an induction phase of four cycles receiving pembrolizumab every 3 weeks along with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel. After induction, they are randomly assigned to one of two maintenance groups pembrolizumab alone every 6 weeks for up to 96 weeks, or pembrolizumab combined with sac-TMT every 2 weeks until discontinuation criteria are met. The chemotherapy drugs are given intravenously during the induction phase, and maintenance treatments continue intravenously according to assigned groups. Throughout the study, participants will be monitored for overall survival as the primary outcome, with secondary outcomes including progression-free survival, adverse events, treatment discontinuations, and quality of life measures such as dyspnea, cough, and chest pain. Assessments include tumor scans to evaluate disease status, performance status checks, and patient-reported questionnaires on symptoms and health-related quality of life. Participants are followed for up to approximately 79 months to gather comprehensive safety and efficacy data, with ongoing monitoring by the research team.

Pembrolizumab With or Without Maintenance Sacituzumab Tirumotecan (Sac-TMT; MK-2870) in Metastatic Squamous Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) [MK-2870-023]