Tumor Dynamics in Patients with Solid Tumors Treated with Pembrolizumab Beyond Disease Progression

Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) used alone or in combination has become the standard treatment for various solid tumors. While this approach has shown significant and sustained efficacy in some patients, most patients still experience disease progression (PD). Later, some doctors found that continuing ICI treatment during the progression period, known as treated beyond progression (TBP), was effective for certain patients. However, the intensity and duration of this efficacy remain unclear. In this study, researchers analyzed the efficacy of pembrolizumab in patients with solid tumors who continued receiving pembrolizumab after PD (according to RECIST v1.1 criteria). A total of 799 TBP patients were analyzed, including 176 with melanoma, 146 with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 87 with gastric cancer, 112 with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), 51 with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and 227 with urothelial carcinoma (UC). Among them, 71 patients exhibited similar tumor dynamics before and after progression, while the remaining 105 patients showed changes in tumor dynamics. The most common transition was from growth to stability or from shrinkage to stability.