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Kristie L. Kahl is vice president of content at MJH Life Sciences, overseeing CURE®, CancerNetwork®, the journal ONCOLOGY, Targeted Oncology, and Urology Times®. She has been with the company since November 2017.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved Keytruda for recurrent locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus in certain patients.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for recurrent locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The agent’s indication is approved for patients whose tumors express PD-L1 (a combined positive score of 10 or more) with disease progression after one or more prior lines of systemic therapy, according to Merck, the immunotherapy drug’s manufacturer.
Keytruda is an anti-PD-1 therapy that works by increasing the ability of the body’s immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. The approval was based on data from two trials:
“Historically, patients with advanced esophageal cancer have had limited treatment options, particularly after their disease has progressed,” Dr. Jonathan Cheng, vice president of oncology clinical research at Merck Research Laboratories, said in a press release.
“With this approval, Keytruda is now the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved for the treatment of previously-treated patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus whose tumors express PD-L1 (a combined positive score of 10 or more), providing an important new monotherapy option for physicians and patients in the United States,” he added.
Read our full report for more information on what this approval means for patients.
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