Multicenter randomized phase 2 trial of adding avelumab to chemotherapy for advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer

Adding immunotherapy to first-line chemotherapy might improve outcomes of patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer (A/R EC). The multicenter phase 2 MITO END-3 trial in Italy randomized A/R EC patients to carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy with avelumab, followed by avelumab maintenance therapy (‘experimental group’) versus carboplatin and paclitaxel alone (‘standard group’). During median 23.3 months of follow-up, progression-free survival events were seen in 66% of patients in the experimental group versus 79% of patients in the standard group, with no significant difference in median PFS between the two groups (p=0.085). The authors conclude that adding avelumab to first-line chemotherapy for A/R EC deserves further testing.