Merck's Keytruda extends survival in lung cancer study
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Merck & Co's approved Keytruda lung cancer treatment provided superior overall survival to chemotherapy in a late-stage study of patients with advanced disease whose tumors produce a protein called PD-L1 associated with increased risk of the disease.
The U.S. drugmaker on Monday said patients taking the approved 2 milligram dosage of Keytruda and those taking an experimental 10 milligram dose had longer overall survival compared with those taking docetaxel, a standard treatment for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer. Keytruda thereby met its main goal of the study.
Patients whose tumors had especially high levels of PD-L1 also went longer without a progression of disease than those taking docetaxel, Merck said. Those whose tumors expressed PD-L1, but not at high levels, did not show such a statistically significant benefit in progression-free survival.
Safety of Keytruda was consistent with what had been seen in previous trials among lung cancer patients, Merck said in a release that included only summary "topline" information from the results.
The U.S. drugmaker on Monday said patients taking the approved 2 milligram dosage of Keytruda and those taking an experimental 10 milligram dose had longer overall survival compared with those taking docetaxel, a standard treatment for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer. Keytruda thereby met its main goal of the study.
Patients whose tumors had especially high levels of PD-L1 also went longer without a progression of disease than those taking docetaxel, Merck said. Those whose tumors expressed PD-L1, but not at high levels, did not show such a statistically significant benefit in progression-free survival.
Safety of Keytruda was consistent with what had been seen in previous trials among lung cancer patients, Merck said in a release that included only summary "topline" information from the results.
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