Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41946687›Full record

Trial reportSignal transduction and targeted therapy2026

Anti-PD-1 antibody penpulimab plus chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a randomized, double-blind phase 3 study.

Shuang Huang, Feng Liu, Song Qu, Lisha Chen, Ping Zhou, Shenhong Qu, Xiaohong Ai, Yong Chen, Meilian Liu, Rensheng Wang and 40 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialClinical Trial, Phase IIIMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Signal transduction and targeted therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04974398 (A Randomized, Double-blind, Multi-center Phase III Study of Penpulimab), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT04974398 phase3active not recruitingnot on this map

A Randomized, Double-blind, Multi-center Phase III Study of Penpulimab (AK105) Combined With Chemotherapy Versus Placebo Combined With Chemotherapy in the First-line Treatment of Recurrent or Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

TypeinterventionalSponsorAkesoRan2021 to 2026Enrolled296ConditionsNasopharyngeal CarcinomaArmsPenpulimab, placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

50 authors.

Shuang Huang *Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
Feng Liu *Hunan Cancer Hospital, Changsha, China.
Song Qu *Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, China.
Lisha ChenFujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
Ping ZhouThe First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.
Shenhong QuThe People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China.
Xiaohong AiThe First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, China.
Yong ChenThe First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Meilian LiuAffiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.
Rensheng WangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
Kelvin Kw ChanToronto Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
Peng ZhangSichuan Cancer Hospital, Chengdu, China.
Chunhong HuThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.
Jiyu WenAffiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China.
Jian ZhangZhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7217-0111
Qin LinThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3434-4162
Xiaojiang LiYunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming, China.
Kangsheng GuThe First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Li XiangThe Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
Dongxia WangDongguan People's Hospital, Dongguan, China.
Jingao LiJiangxi Cancer Hospital, Nanchang, China.
Daren LinJiangmen Central Hospital, Jiangmen, China.
Desheng HuHubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan, China.
Jianwu DingThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Siyang WangThe Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China.
Xiaoming HuangSun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Lin WangHainan General Hospital, Haikou, China.
Feng JinAffiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
David G PfisterMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Milena Perez MakInstituto do Câncer do Estado de SãoPaulo "Octávio Frias de Oliveira"-ICESP, São Paulo, Brazil.
Pedro Rafael Martins de MarchiOncoclínicas Rio de Janeiro S.A, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Yi JiangCancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China.
Haihua YangTaizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Taizhou, China.
Xiaoye HuAffiliated Cancer Hospital and Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Tianrun LiuThe Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Dehua WuNanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Aditya ShreenivasCity of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA.
Thiago Bueno de OliveiraFundação Antonio Prudente - A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, Brazil.
Carlos Eduardo Baston SilvaFundação Pio XII - Hospital de Amor de Barretos, Barretos, Brazil.
Gustavo Vasconcelos AlvesHospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição S.A., Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Xianming LiShenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Zhifang YaoAkeso Biopharma, Inc, Zhongshan, China.
Dongmei LuAkeso Biopharma, Inc, Zhongshan, China.
Mingxiu HuAkeso Biopharma, Inc, Zhongshan, China.
Zhongmin Maxwell WangAkeso Biopharma, Inc, Zhongshan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1683-5147
Baiyong LiAkeso Biopharma, Inc, Zhongshan, China.
Michelle XiaAkeso Biopharma, Inc, Zhongshan, China.
Xiaozhong ChenZhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, China. cxzfyun@sina.com.
Chaosu HuFudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China. hucsu62@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6407-3311
Tingting XuFudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China. dr_tingtingxu@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5920-808X

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI SELWYN M VICKERS · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In this phase 3 trial, penpulimab combined with chemotherapy was assessed against a regimen of placebo plus chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (R/M NPC). 291 patients were randomised and allocated in a 1:1 ratio in order to receive penpulimab (n = 144; 200 mg) or placebo (n = 147; 200 mg), plus chemotherapy (cisplatin/carboplatin and gemcitabine) every 3 weeks. Patients followed by maintenance therapy with penpulimab or placebo after 6 cycles. The primary endpoint of this study was progression-free survival (PFS) according to RECIST v1.1, and a significantly longer median PFS in the penpulimab arm versus the placebo arm (9.63 versus 7.00 months; hazard ratio 0.45, 95% CI: 0.33-0.62, P < 0.0001) was demonstrated in this prespecified interim analysis. The key secondary endpoint was the overall survival (OS). However, the OS data were still immature, and the median OS was not achieved (hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.63-1.40). The occurrence of treatment-related adverse events (grade ≥ 3) was 89.0% and 85.9% in two arms, with the most common being reduced the quantity of neutrophil (56.2% vs. 62.0%), reduced the quantity of white blood cell (54.1% vs. 54.9%), and anemia (45.2% vs. 38.7%). In the penpulimab arm, 6 patients (4.1%) experienced immune-related adverse events (grade ≥ 3). Adding penpulimab to chemotherapy led to a notable enhancement in PFS for the first-line R/M NPC treatment, alongside a safety profile that was both manageable and tolerable. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04974398.

Indexed as

Antibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsNasopharyngeal CarcinomaNasopharyngeal NeoplasmsNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalAdultAgedCarboplatinCisplatinDeoxycytidineDouble-Blind MethodFemaleGemcitabineHumansMaleMiddle AgedAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedCarboplatinCisplatinDeoxycytidineGemcitabinepenpulimab

Identifiers

PMID41946687
PMCPMC13056984

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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.