Phase II trial of Pembrolizumab and Lenvatinib in Advanced Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer (PLANE-PC)
Abstract
Background: Effective therapies remain a currently unmet need for neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Preclinical synergy in small cell cancer, and clinical tolerability led to the conduct of a multicenter phase II trial of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab combination. Patients and Methods: Eligible patients had histologically proven prostate cancer with radiologic evidence of metastases and at least one of the following: A) Small-cell or NEPC morphology B) Positive staining for chromogranin and synaptophysin C) Presence of visceral metastases or high volume disease (> 4 sites of metastases) and a PSA< 5ng/ml.D) Serum chromogranin A level > 5× upper limit of normal (ULN) and/or serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) > 2× ULN. E) RB1 deletions or mutations F) Trans-differentiated carcinoma. Maximum of 2 prior chemotherapy regimens were allowed. Performance status of 0-1 and normal marrow, renal and liver function were required. Primary endpoint was 6-month progression free survival (PFS). Secondary objectives included radiologic PFS, safety, overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR). Treatment consisted of lenvatinib orally daily at a starting dose of 20 mg daily and intravenous pembrolizumab 200 mg every 21 days. Imaging was conducted every 9 weeks for the first 4 assessments and then every 12 weeks thereafter. PSA was monitored on day 1 of each cycle. Results: 45 patients were enrolled; of which 4 (9%) were African American. Median age was 69 years (range- 37-88 years), 16 (36%) had Gleason > 8, 30 (67%) had small cell/NEPC, 1 had transdifferentiated histology (2%). 18 (40%) patients had liver metastases and 39 (87%) had measurable disease. 6 (13%) patients were chemotherapy naïve and 28 (62%) had received prior platinum-based therapy. 5 patients had grade 3 or 4 immune related adverse events. No treatment related deaths were noted. Of 40 response evaluable patients 10 (25%) had a partial response and 18 (45%) demonstrated stable disease. 10 patients (25%) were progression free at 6 months. The median PFS and OS were 3.9 (2.9-6.0) and 8.0 (5.9-12.3) months respectively. Conclusion: The combination of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab demonstrated promising efficacy in a patient population that currently has no therapeutic options. Clinical trials.gov: NCT04848337
Citation Information
@article{ulkavaishampayan2026,
title={Phase II trial of Pembrolizumab and Lenvatinib in Advanced Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer (PLANE-PC)},
author={Ulka Vaishampayan and Jeremy (M. G.) Taylor and Deepak Kilari and Tanya Dorff and Alexandra Sokolava and Yaxuan Huang and Phillip Palmbos and Jacqueline Brown and Irene Tsung and Megan Caram and Sarah Yentz and Bassel Nazha and Zachery Reichert and Joshi Alumkal},
journal={Nature Portfolio},
year={2026},
doi={https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9471666/v1}
}
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