Overview

• Presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the phase II Alliance A091802 trial enrolled 57 patients with unresectable or metastatic cSCC and compared avelumab plus cetuximab against avelumab alone.
• Patients receiving the combination achieved a median progression-free survival of 11 months, nearly four times longer than the 3-month median seen with avelumab monotherapy.
• Nine patients whose disease progressed on avelumab alone crossed over to the combination arm and experienced progression-free survival comparable to those treated initially with both agents.
• Lead author Dan Zandberg noted that the enhanced efficacy suggests synergistic interaction between PD-L1 blockade and EGFR targeting in stimulating antitumor immunity.
• Despite positive results, the regimen is unlikely to replace approved agents like cemiplimab and pembrolizumab, but may offer a valuable option for patients who fail first-line PD-1 inhibitors.