Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41667152›Full record

Trial reportJournal for immunotherapy of cancer2026

Efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab, lenvatinib, and reduced-dose gemcitabine/oxaliplatin as initial treatment for advanced biliary tract cancer: a multicenter, single-arm, prospective, phase II study.

Mingjian Piao, Chengjie Li, Shuofeng Li, Nan Zhang, Jiongyuan Li, Xu Luo, Rong Liu, Fei Wang, Xiangde Shi, Chao Liu and 4 more

Abstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Mingjian PiaoDepartment of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Chengjie LiDepartment of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Shuofeng LiDepartment of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2747-9501
Nan ZhangDepartment of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Jiongyuan LiDepartment of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xu LuoDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, People's Republic of China.
Rong LiuFaculty of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Fei WangFaculty of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xiangde ShiDepartment of Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Chao LiuDepartment of Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Guang TanDepartment of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, People's Republic of China [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
Zhenyu ZhuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
Xiaobo YangDepartment of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
Haitao ZhaoDepartment of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3444-8044

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBiliary tract cancer (BTC) is an aggressive malignancy with limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with chemotherapy have improved patient outcomes, their toxicity remains concerning. This phase II multicenter trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab plus lenvatinib with a reduced-dose gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GEMOX) regimen as a first-line therapy for advanced BTC.

methods60 patients with unresectable or metastatic BTC were enrolled from five centers in China. Patients received pembrolizumab (200 mg, every 3 weeks), lenvatinib (8 or 12 mg daily), and modified GEMOX (gemcitabine 1000 mg/m² and oxaliplatin 85 mg/m² on day 1 of each 3-week cycle) for 6-8 cycles, followed by maintenance with pembrolizumab and lenvatinib. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR), and the secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety.

resultsAt a median follow-up of 16.0 months, the ORR (complete response 5.0%, partial response (PR) 50.0%) and disease control rate were 55.0% and 93.3%, respectively. The median PFS and OS were 12.5 months (95% CI 7.93 to 16.3), and 19.5 months (95% CI 17.97 to not estimable), respectively. Elevated baseline CA19-9 (>37 U/mL) and carcinoembryonic antigen levels (>5 ng/mL) were independently associated with poor OS and PFS, respectively. The regimen showed manageable toxicity, with 95% of patients experiencing treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs), mostly grades 1-2; grade 3-4 AEs occurred in 65% of patients, with no treatment-related deaths. Immune-related AEs occurred in 11.7% of the patients and were predominantly mild.

conclusionsPembrolizumab plus lenvatinib with reduced-dose GEMOX demonstrated promising efficacy and a favorable safety profile in advanced BTC, suggesting that chemotherapy de-escalation may optimize the efficacy-toxicity balance. Further randomized studies are warranted to confirm these findings and refine biomarker-based treatment selections.

Indexed as

Antibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsBiliary Tract NeoplasmsDeoxycytidineOxaliplatinPhenylurea CompoundsQuinolinesAdultAgedFemaleGemcitabineHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedDeoxycytidineGemcitabinelenvatinibOxaliplatinpembrolizumabPhenylurea CompoundsQuinolinesBiliary Tract CancerBiomarkerImmune Checkpoint InhibitorImmunotherapy

Identifiers

PMID41667152
PMCPMC12911844

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.