Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, and the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) announced results from the Phase 3 CCTG IND.227/KEYNOTE-483 trial evaluating KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with unresectable advanced pleural mesothelioma.

At the final analysis of the study, KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival.  These late-breaking data are being presented during an oral abstract session at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

“Patients with pleural mesothelioma are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, when the five-year survival rate is only 12% and curative surgery is not an option,” said Dr. Lesley Seymour, Director of the Investigational New Drug program at CCTG, and Senior Investigator for IND.227. “The addition of pembrolizumab to platinum-pemetrexed in our study resulted in significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival and objective response rates compared to platinum-pemetrexed alone, regardless of PD-L1 expression. This regimen represents a potential new treatment option for patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma.”

“These results support the potential of KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy as a new first-line option for patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma, who currently have limited treatment options,” said Dr. Gregory Lubiniecki, Vice President, Global Clinical Development, Merck Research Laboratories. “These data demonstrate our commitment to improving outcomes for patients with different types of thoracic cancer through our expansive clinical development program and research evaluating KEYTRUDA in new, difficult-to-treat tumors.”