Merck’s Keytruda with chemotherapy shows improvements in Phase 3 trial

Merck announced results from the pivotal Phase 3 KEYNOTE-859 trial investigating KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. After a median follow-up of 31.0 months, KEYTRUDA in combination with chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival, reducing the risk of death by 22% compared to chemotherapy alone for these patients, regardless of PD-L1 expression. Median OS was 12.9 months for KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy versus 11.5 months for chemotherapy alone. These data are being presented today during a European Society for Medical Oncology Virtual Plenary and are being submitted to regulatory authorities worldwide. "Most gastric cancers go undetected until an advanced stage, at which point the five-year survival rate is just 6%, one of the lowest across cancer types," said Dr. Sun Young Rha, director and professor of medical oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine, Songdang Institute for Cancer Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei University Health System, Seoul, Korea. "The positive overall survival results observed in this study are very encouraging and demonstrate the potential of KEYTRUDA in combination with chemotherapy to extend the lives of patients with HER2-negative locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma."