Dr. Weber on Next Steps With Pembrolizumab as Melanoma Treatment

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and deputy director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the next steps with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as treatment for patients with melanoma.

Two of the most interesting studies that the community is excited about are the phase III trials of pembrolizumab combined with talimogene laherparepvec (Imlygic; T-VEC) and pembrolizumab with the IDO inhibitor epacadostat. The results of the pembrolizumab/epacadostat trial will likely be read out within the year, Weber explains.

If the study is positive, this then brings up the issue of what to do when patients fail on treatment. Moreover, if pembrolizumab/epacadostat becomes a frontline treatment of choice, then researchers will have to start thinking about potential combinations with ipilimumab.