One out of three still good news for Keytruda in second-line esophageal carcinoma

15 January 2019

Hitting one out of three primary endpoints has been billed as a success for Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as results were presented from KEYNOTE-181, a trial investigating the anti-PD-1 therapy for the second-line treatment of advanced or metastatic esophageal or esophagogastric junction carcinoma.

In the pivotal Phase III study, the Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) drug met a primary endpoint by significantly improving overall survival (OS) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma who progressed after standard therapy and whose tumors expressed PD-L1, with a 31% reduction in the risk of death compared to chemotherapy.

It is the first time an anti-PD-1 therapy has demonstrated a survival benefit for this patient population.

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