Abstract 33P
Background
MK-3475A (pembro SC) offers potential advantages over IV delivery including time savings for patients and healthcare professionals (HCP). The MK-3475A-D77 trial, which has established the noninferiority of pembro SC vs pembro IV, demonstrated that pembro SC can be delivered in 2 minutes compared to the known pembro IV 30-minute infusion time. This observational study, conducted alongside MK-3475AD77, quantifies other time-based endpoints associated with pembro SC and IV in treating patients with mNSCLC.
Methods
This prospective study enrolled 17 sites across 8 countries in Europe (4), South America (3), and Asia (1) from MK-3475A-D77. Primary endpoints were active HCP time for tasks related to pembro preparation and administration, patient time in chair and treatment room. Time was measured by trained observers using a stopwatch. Time associated with chemo administration was removed from chair and treatment room duration. Descriptive statistics were calculated including weighted means (WM) to account for unequal sample sizes across countries in each group. Statistical differences between SC and IV arms were explored via linear mixed model.
Results
Overall, 212 observations were analyzed (153 SC and 59 IV); analytical sample sizes slightly differed by endpoint after removal of extreme outliers. Total active HCP time was reduced by 46% for SC vs IV (WM: 14.0 vs 25.8 minutes), with HCPs spending 45% less time on drug preparation (WM: 5.1 vs 9.2 minutes) and 47% less time on drug administration and patient monitoring (WM: 8.9 vs 16.7 minutes). Patient chair time was reduced by 50% for SC vs IV (WM: 59.0 vs 117.2 minutes). Patients receiving SC vs IV spent less time in the treatment room (WM: 66.7 vs 126.9 minutes; −47%). The differences were statistically significant (p < 0.0001) for active HCP and patient time endpoints.
Conclusions
This study shows that pembro SC significantly reduces active HCP time and patient time in chair and treatment room. HCP time being freed up could be dedicated to other patient-care activities, whilst available chair time could be redeployed to improve overall healthcare efficiency.
Legal entity responsible for the study
Merck & Co., Inc.
Funding
Merck & Co., Inc.
Disclosure
S. Oskar: Financial Interests, Personal, Full or part-time Employment: Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC; Financial Interests, Personal, Stocks/Shares: Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC. R. Eiras: Financial Interests, Institutional, Full or part-time Employment, Renata Eiras is an employee of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, who may own stock and/or hold stock options in Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC,; Financial Interests, Personal, Stocks/Shares, owns stock in Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Merck & Co., Inc. C. Pietanza: Financial Interests, Personal, Full or part-time Employment, I ama salaried employee of Merck, Sharpe and Dohme, and receive stock.: Merck, Sharpe and Dohme; Financial Interests, Personal, Stocks/Shares, I am a salaried employee of Merck, Sharpe and Dohme and receive stock.: Merck, Sharpe and Dohme. A. Arunachalam: Financial Interests, Personal, Full or part-time Employment, Employee of Merck & Co., Inc.: Merck & Co., Inc; Financial Interests, Personal, Stocks/Shares, Employee of Merck & Co., Inc.: Merck & Co., Inc. G.V. Alves: Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker, Speaker: Sanofi, AstraZeneca; Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board, Advisory: AstraZeneca, Merck Serono, MSD; Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker: GSK; Financial Interests, Institutional, Invited Speaker: MSD, BMS, AstraZeneca, Roche, Beigene, Janssen, Aveo, Sanofi; Financial Interests, Institutional, Other, Sub-Investigator: Zymeworks. E. Felip: Financial Interests, Personal, Advisory Board: AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Regeneron, Turning Point, Pfizer, Genmab, Daiichi Sankyo, Johnson & Johnson, ITeos Therapeutics, Pierre Fabre; Financial Interests, Personal, Invited Speaker: Amgen, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, Janssen, Medical Trends, Medscape, Merck Serono, PeerVoice, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Gilead, Novartis, Regeneron, Johnson & Johnson, Pierre Fabre; Financial Interests, Personal, Member of Board of Directors, Independent member: Grifols; Financial Interests, Institutional, Invited Speaker, Clinical Trial: AstraZeneca AB, AbbVie, Amgen, Bayer Consumer Care AG, Beigene, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Bristol Myers Squibb International Corporation, Daiichi Sankyo Inc., Exelixis Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Genentech Inc., GSK Research and Development Limited, Janssen Cilag International NV, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, Merck KGAA, Mirati Therapeutics Inc, Novartis Pharmaceutica SA, Pfizer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals International; Financial Interests, Institutional, Invited Speaker: Nuvalent; Non-Financial Interests, Personal, Leadership Role, President (2021–2023): SEOM (Sociedad Espanola de Oncologia Medica); Non-Financial Interests, Personal, Member, Member of Scientific Committee: ETOP (European Thoracic Oncology Platform); Non-Financial Interests, Personal, Member, Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee: CAC Hospital Universitari Parc Taulı.? All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.