The phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial designed to evaluate first-line pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) unresectable or metastatic advanced colorectal cancer met 1 of its dual primary endpoints of progression-free survival (PFS), according to Merck, the agent’s developer.
Based on an interim analysis conducted by an independent data monitoring committee (DMC), pembrolizumab monotherapy was found to demonstrate a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS compared with chemotherapy.
The company indicated that they will be presenting data from this study at an upcoming medical congress.
“These head-to-head data with Keytruda are the first time a single-agent, anti-cancer therapy, and particularly an anti-PD-1 monotherapy, achieved a statistically significant improvement in…