Keytruda, the primary treatment for esophageal cancer

MSD's Keytruda Expands Indication to Primary Treatment for Esophageal Cancer

Significant improvement in survival in PD-L1 positive patients

It is attracting attention as a differentiated strategy from competitive drug Opdivo

Keytruda, an immuno-cancer drug of MSD, has become the primary option in esophageal cancer, where treatments have been limited.

 

The medical team predicted that an immuno-cancer drug-oriented treatment strategy using Keytruda or Opdivo will be established depending on the PD-L1 expression rate.

 

At a seminar to commemorate the expansion of Keytruda indications held online by MSD Korea on the 31st, Sun Jong-moo, a professor of hematological oncology at Samsung Medical Center, pointed out the meaning of the launch of Keytruda in esophageal cancer.

 

He said, "As immuno-cancer drugs appear in esophageal cancer, treatment strategies are changing in the direction of considering using immuno-cancer drugs from the earliest stage possible depending on the PD-L1 expression rate of patients."

Professor Sun Jong-moo of the Dept.

 

of Hematology at SMC, who is presenting at the MSD Online Seminar in Korea

On the 7th, the MFDS expanded indications for Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy in metastatic esophageal cancer and gastroesophageal junction cancer, which cannot be operated.

 

Keytruda is the first immuno-cancer drug to be released in the primary treatment.

 

Keytruda targets patients with positive PD-L1 expression.

 

Esophageal cancer is largely divided into squamous epithelial cell cancer and adenocarcinoma, of which squamous epithelial cell cancer accounts for 90%.

 

According to Professor Sun, esophageal cancer is considered a very difficult cancer, and if surgery is impossible, it should be treated with chemotherapy.

 

However, when chemotherapy is used, mOS is only about 10 months.

 

Although treatments have developed dramatically in various cancers over the past decade, esophageal cancer has continued for nearly 40 years.

 

Keytruda significantly improved the therapeutic effect through a study on KEYNOTE-590, a licensed clinical trial.

 

The mOS of Keytruda+anti-cancer chemotherapy group was 13.5 months, which was significantly longer than the control group (anti-cancer chemotherapy alone) of 5.5 months.

 

Keytruda reduced the risk of death by 38%.

 

mPFS also reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 49% compared to 5.5 months in the control group to 7.5 months in the Keytruda group.

 

Keytruda previously put forward a distinctly different strategy from BMS's immuno-cancer drug Opdivo, which entered esophageal cancer.

 

Opdivo can be used regardless of the PD-L1 expression rate, but can be used as a secondary treatment in patients who first used chemotherapy.

 

Conversely, Keytruda was limited to PD-L1 positive patients, but acquired the status of primary treatment.

 

Professor Sun said, "The current treatment that can be used in the primary esophageal cancer is a drug that has been used since the early 80s, and the demand for unmet was high." Professor Sun said, "Now that immuno-cancer drugs can be used in the first round, the treatment effect is expected to increase significantly," adding, "Medical staff also experienced that adding immuno-cancer drugs to chemotherapy does not significantly increase side effects, and the experience has been proven by clinical data."