Pembrolizumab in vaginal and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma: a case series from a phase II basket trial

Vaginal and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are rare tumors that can be challenging to treat in the recurrent or metastatic setting. We present a case series of patients with vaginal or vulvar SCC who were treated with single-agent pembrolizumab as part of a phase II basket clinical trial to evaluate efficacy and safety. Two cases of recurrent and metastatic vaginal SCC, with multiple prior lines of systemic chemotherapy and radiation, received pembrolizumab. One patient had significant reduction (81%) in target tumor lesions prior to treatment discontinuation at cycle 10 following confirmed progression of disease with new metastatic lesions (stable disease by irRECIST criteria). In contrast, the other patient with vaginal SCC discontinued treatment after cycle 3 due to disease progression. Both patients had PD-L1 positive vaginal tumors and tolerated treatment well. One case of recurrent vulvar SCC with multiple surgical resections and prior progression on systemic carboplatin had a 30% reduction in her target tumor lesions following pembrolizumab treatment with a PD-L1 positive tumor. Treatment was discontinued for grade 3 mucositis after cycle 5. Pembrolizumab may provide some clinical benefit to some patients with vaginal or vulvar SCC and is overall safe to utilize in this population. Future studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of pembrolizumab in these rare tumor types and to identify predictive biomarkers of response.