Merck : KEYTRUDA Combination Cuts Death Risk By 34% In Late-Stage Breast Cancer Trial

(RTTNews) - Merck & Co Inc.'s (MRK) anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), when combined with chemotherapy before surgery and continued as a single agent after surgery, reduced the risk of death by more than one-third (34%) compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone. This was demonstrated in the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-522 trial for high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer or TNBC.

According to the company, the five-year overall survival rate was 86.6% for patients who received the KEYTRUDA regimen versus 81.7% for patients who received the chemotherapy-placebo regimen. Median overall survival was not reached in either group. The safety profile of KEYTRUDA was consistent with that observed in previously reported studies with no new safety signals observed.

As previously announced, the KEYNOTE-522 trial met its dual primary endpoints of pCR and event-free survival (EFS) at earlier interim analyses.

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