ArticleInvestigational new drugs2021
Pembrolizumab for advanced penile cancer: a case series from a phase II basket trial.
Article in Investigational new drugs, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02721732 (Phase II Study for the Evaluation of Efficacy of Pembrolizumab), which is not on this map. Cited by 33 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Phase II Study for the Evaluation of Efficacy of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in Patients With Rare Tumors
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Basket trials in rare diseases: a systematic review of current practices, methodological challenges, and future directions.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2025Pooled it
- Penile cancer: ESMO-EURACAN Clinical Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.ESMO open · 2024Guideline
- PD-L1 is associated with the prognosis of penile cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of pembrolizumab and vorinostat combination in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinomas: a phase 2 basket trial.Nature cancer · 2025Trial
- Phase II Trial of MEDI0457 and Durvalumab for Patients With Recurrent/Metastatic Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cancers.The oncologist · 2023Trial
- Neoadjuvant Treatment for Penile Cancer: A Systematic Review of Contemporary Evidence.Cancers · 2026Review
- Pembrolizumab in Patients with Advanced Miscellaneous Rare Cancers: Results from a Phase 2 Basket Trial.Journal of immunotherapy and precision oncology · 2025Article
- Evidence-Based Recommendations on the Use of Immunotherapies and Monoclonal Antibodies in the Treatment of Male Reproductive Cancers.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Review
- Real-World Outcomes in Patients with Advanced Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Single Institution Experience.Journal of immunotherapy and precision oncology · 2025Article
- The role of immunotherapy in targeting tumor microenvironment in genitourinary cancers.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Review
- A generalized calibrated Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach to basket trials with multiple endpoints.Biometrical journal. Biometrische Zeitschrift · 2024Article
- Multiplex Immunofluorescence Captures Progressive Immune Exhaustion with Advancing Penile Squamous Cell Cancer Stage.Cancers · 2024Article
- Treatment approaches in advanced penile cancer: targeted therapies and immunotherapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Advances in molecular basis of response to immunotherapy for penile cancer: better screening of responders.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced penile cancer: report from the Global Society of Rare Genitourinary Tumors.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2023Article
- Metastatic Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma Responsive to Enfortumab Vedotin.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- A Phase II Clinical Trial of Pembrolizumab Efficacy and Safety in Advanced Renal Medullary Carcinoma.Cancers · 2023Article
- Therapeutic Approaches to Penile Cancer: Standards of Care and Recent Developments.Research and reports in urology · 2023Review
- Combination of Durvalumab and Chemotherapy to Potentially Convert Unresectable Stage IV Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma to Resectable Disease: A Case Report.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTreatment options for unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are limited. Previous studies have shown that 40-62% of patients with penile SCC express PD-L1. We report three cases of locally advanced or metastatic penile SCC treated with pembrolizumab. CASE PRESENTATIONS: Herein, we present three patients with recurrent, locally advanced or metastatic penile SCC who progressed on a platinum-based chemotherapy triplet and were treated with pembrolizumab, administered as part of a phase II clinical trial for rare tumors (NCT02721732). One patient with a microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) tumor experienced a durable partial response to pembrolizumab, underwent surgical consolidation, and remains disease-free 38.7 months later. Two patients experienced progressive disease within 3 months of beginning pembrolizumab. No one experienced a grade 3 or worse treatment-related adverse event.
conclusionIn sum, single-agent pembrolizumab was well tolerated as salvage therapy in a small cohort of patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic penile SCC. Pembrolizumab produced an objective response in an MSI-H tumor, yet it did not control disease in two patients with MSS penile SCC. Rationale combination therapies, including pembrolizumab, warrant further investigation.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02721732 . Registered March 23, 2016.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.