Researchers are looking for other ways to treat metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Squamous NSCLC is cancer that starts in squamous cells, which are flat cells that line the inside of the airways in the lungs. Metastatic means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Standard treatment (usual treatment) for metastatic squamous NSCLC is immunotherapy with or without chemotherapy. Immunotherapy is a treatment that helps the immune system fight cancer. Chemotherapy is medicine that destroys cancer cells or stops them from growing. However, standard treatment may not work or may stop working to treat metastatic squamous NSCLC.
Researchers want to learn if study treatments that are antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) can treat metastatic squamous NSCLC that did not respond (get smaller or go away) to standard treatment. An ADC attaches to a protein on cancer cells and delivers treatment to destroy those cells.
The main goals of this study are to learn about:
* The cancer response to the study treatments compared to chemotherapy * The safety of the study treatments and if people tolerate them
This study is one of the substudies being conducted under one pembrolizumab umbrella master protocol (MK-3475-U01/KEYMAKER-U01).
Histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of Stage IV squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Has documented disease progression per Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors 1.1 (RECIST 1.1), as assessed by investigator after receiving an anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) treatment and platinum-based chemotherapy for Stage IV disease
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected participants must have well controlled HIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART)
Participants who are Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive are eligible if they have received Hepatitis B virus (HBV) antiviral therapy for at least 4 weeks, and have undetectable HBV viral load
Diagnosis of small cell lung cancer or, for mixed tumors, presence of small cell elements
Has uncontrolled or significant cardiovascular disorder
Clinically severe pulmonary compromise resulting from intercurrent pulmonary illnesses including, but not limited to, any underlying pulmonary disorder (ie, pulmonary emboli within 3 months, severe asthma, severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, restrictive lung disease, pleural effusion, etc), or any autoimmune, connective tissue, or inflammatory disorders with pulmonary involvement (ie, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, sarcoidosis, etc), or prior pneumonectomy
Participants who have adverse events (AEs) (other than alopecia) due to previous anticancer therapies must have recovered to ≤Grade 1 or baseline
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Lead sponsor
Daiichi Sankyo
Collaborator