Overall survival and progression-free survival of subgroups with avelumab first-line maintenance for advanced urothelial carcinoma

A recent study suggests that avelumab maintenance treatment was found to help advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) patients who did not show disease progression after having at least four cycles of prior chemotherapy and were on maintenance treatment at least 4 weeks after the chemotherapy, to live longer. This study was published in the journal, European Urology.

The JAVELIN Bladder 100 was a phase 3 trial in which 700 patients with advanced UC were included who did not show disease progression after 4-6 cycles of chemotherapy. They were randomized to receive either avelumab + Best Supportive Care (BSC) or BSC alone. Subgroups were defined according to quartile duration (Q), estimated chemotherapy cycles, and the interval between maintenance and chemotherapy. The duration of median follow-up in both arms was >19 mo. The primary endpoint of the study was overall survival (OS); additionally, progression-free survival (PFS) and safety were also assessed.

After the study was over, it was observed that the hazard ratio for OS with avelumab + BSC versus BSC alone were by chemotherapy duration- <Q1: 0.65, Q1-Q2: 0.79, Q2-Q3: 0.74, and >Q3: 0.63. By number of cycles-4 cycles: 0.69, 5 cycles: 0.98, and 6 cycles: 0.66 while by interval -4-<6 wk: 0.75, 6-<8 wk: 0.67, and 8-10 wk: 0.69. Similarly, PFS and safety showed similar results across subgroups.

It can be concluded that OS and PFS in subgroups may be generally consistent in the overall population and with similar safety findings. Thus, avelumab maintenance treatment helped patients with advanced UC to live longer.