Study of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) vs. Best Supportive Care in Participants With Previously Systemically Treated Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma (MK-3475-240/KEYNOTE-240)

Summary

This is a study of pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in participants with previously systemically treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The primary objectives of this study are to determine 1) Progression-Free Survival (PFS) and 2) Overall Survival (OS) of pembrolizumab plus best supportive care (BSC) compared with placebo plus BSC. The primary hypotheses of this study are: 1) pembrolizumab plus BSC prolongs PFS per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1, assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review compared to placebo plus BSC, and 2) pembrolizumab plus BSC improves OS compared with placebo plus BSC. Effective with Amendment 4: Upon study completion, participants are discontinued and may be enrolled in a pembrolizumab extension study, if available.

Timeline

Start

2016-05-26

Primary completion

2019-01-02

Completion

2021-09-22

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper In this study, OS and PFS did not reach statistical significance per specified criteria. PMID 31790344 ↗

Publications

• Results Finn RS, Ryoo BY, Merle P, Kudo M, Bouattour M, Lim HY, Breder V, Edeline J, Chao Y, Ogasawara S, Yau T, Garrido M, Chan SL, Knox J, Daniele B, Ebbinghaus SW, Chen E, Siegel AB, Zhu AX, Cheng AL; KEYNOTE-240 investigators. Pembrolizumab As Second-Line Therapy in Patients With Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma in KEYNOTE-240: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Phase III Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2020 Jan 20;38(3):193-202. doi: 10.1200/JCO.19.01307. Epub 2019 Dec 2.
• Chan SL, Finn RS, Edeline J, Ogasawara S, Knox JJ, Daniele B, Ryoo BY, Merle P, Bouattour M, Lim HY, Chao Y, Yau T, Haber BA, Malhotra U, Siegel AB, Liu CC, Kudo M, Cheng AL. Effect of pembrolizumab on viral hepatitis load and transaminases in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Ann Hepatol. 2026 Jan-Jun;31(1):102169. doi: 10.1016/j.aohep.2025.102169. Epub 2025 Dec 24.
• Finn RS, Gu K, Chen X, Merle P, Lee KH, Bouattour M, Cao P, Wang W, Cheng AL, Zhu L, Lim HY, Kudo M, Pan Y, Chang TT, Edeline J, Li W, Yang P, Li C, Li J, Siegel AB, Qin S. Second-line pembrolizumab for advanced HCC: Meta-analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-240 and KEYNOTE-394 studies. JHEP Rep. 2025 Feb 4;7(6):101350. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2025.101350. eCollection 2025 Jun.
• Vogel A, Merle P, Verslype C, Finn RS, Zhu AX, Cheng AL, Chan SL, Yau T, Ryoo BY, Knox J, Daniele B, Qin S, Wei Z, Miteva Y, Malhotra U, Siegel AB, Kudo M. ALBI score and outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: post hoc analysis of the randomized controlled trial KEYNOTE-240. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2021 Sep 30;13:17588359211039928. doi: 10.1177/17588359211039928. eCollection 2021.

Drugs

Indications