SU2C-SARC032: A randomized trial of neoadjuvant RT and surgery with or without pembrolizumab for soft tissue sarcoma.
Authors: Mowery Yvonne Marie , Ballman Karla V. , Hong Angela M. , Schuetze Scott , Wagner Andrew J. , Monga Varun , Heise Rachel , Attia Steven , Choy Edwin , Burgess Melissa Amber , Bae Susie , Pryor David , Van Tine Brian Andrew , Tinoco Gabriel , Chmielowski Bartosz , Freeman Carolyn R. , Van De Rijn Matt , Brigman Brian E. , Riedel Richard F. , Kirsch David G. 
Published: June 2024

11504

Background: Surgery & radiation therapy (RT) yield high local control rates for soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of the extremity and limb girdle. However, patients (pts) with high-grade stage III STS are at significant risk for developing metastasis. Median survival for pts with metastatic STS is < 2 years. SARC028 (NCT02301039) evaluated the efficacy of pembrolizumab (pembro) for metastatic STS, showing 20% and 8.7% response rates in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and pleomorphic/dedifferentiated liposarcoma (LPS), respectively. We hypothesized that neoadjuvant pembro with concurrent RT followed by surgery and adjuvant pembro for stage III UPS, including myxofibrosarcoma, or LPS would stimulate an anti-tumor immune response to eliminate micrometastatic disease & improve disease-free survival (DFS). SU2C-SARC032 (NCT03092323) is a multi-institutional, international, randomized phase 2 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of adding pembro to standard of care (SOC) RT & surgery for pts with stage III UPS or LPS. Methods: Pts aged > 12 yo with stage III (FNCLCC grade 2 or 3) UPS or LPS of the extremity and limb girdle were enrolled. Pts were randomized (1:1, stratified by grade) to neoadjuvant RT (50 Gy/25 fx) then surgery (SOC arm) or neoadjuvant pembro and RT then surgery & adjuvant pembro (EXP arm). Pembro was given 200 mg IV Q3 wk for 3 doses (before, during & after RT) & up to 14 adjuvant cycles. The primary endpoint was 2-yr DFS. Secondary endpoints included local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), & overall survival (OS). Target enrollment of 126 evaluable patients (max 144 total) provided 80% power (1-sided α = 0.05) to distinguish between a null hypothesis of 50% 2-yr DFS rate & alternative hypothesis of 75% 2-yr DFS rate by log-rank test, with initial analysis at 45 DFS events. Cox models were stratified by grade; primary analysis was a one-sided stratified log-rank test. Results: Between July 2017-November 2023, 143 patients were enrolled, predominantly with UPS (85%) & grade 3 (64%) histology. Median follow-up for alive patients is 24.1 mo. DFS in the EXP arm is significantly higher than the SOC arm (p = 0.023; HR 0.57, 90% CI: 0.35, 0.91). Estimated 2-yr DFS is 53% (90% CI: 43, 66%) for SOC vs 70% (90% CI: 61, 81%) for EXP arm. Currently, there is no statistically significant difference in LRFS (HR 0.55, 95% CI: 0.21, 1.42), DDFS (HR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.32, 1.01), or OS (HR 0.39, 95% CI: 0.14, 1.12). Pts with grade 3 sarcomas had improved DFS with pembro (HR 0.47, 95% CI: 0.25, 0.89), but no difference in DFS was observed in grade 2 tumors (HR 1.21, 95% CI: 0.35, 4.18). The proportion of patients with grade 3+ adverse events was significantly higher in EXP (52%) vs SOC arm (26%) (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Theaddition of neoadjuvant & adjuvant pembro to RT and surgery significantly improves DFS for pts with stage III UPS and LPS of the extremity and limb girdle. Clinical trial information: NCT03092323 .