Merck's Keytruda Doubled PFS In Some Colorectal Cancer Patients In ASCO Late-Breaker

Pembrolizumab should be considered the new standard of care as first-line therapy in patients with microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer, KEYNOTE-177 investigator André said.

Three green arrows hitting the center of a black target and 3 darts out of the objective. Business strategy or competitive advantage concept. Space for text on the left side. — Merck's Keytruda doubled PFS in some colorectal cancer patients • Source: Shutterstock

Merck & Co. Inc.'s Phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial studying its PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) versus chemotherapy showed the cancer immunotherapy should be the new standard of care for patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer, lead investigator Thierry André, Sorbonne Université, told a press briefing ahead of the opening of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) virtual meeting.

KEYNOTE-177 – one of seven late-breaker abstracts featured by ASCO – is the first Phase III trial to study Keytruda...

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