Merck's Keytruda makes the cut as a second-line monotherapy for certain esophageal cancer patients
Merck’s cornerstone checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda has added another jewel to its crown.
The US drugmaker on Wednesday disclosed that the PD-1 drug had won approval as a monotherapy for patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, whose tumors express PD-L1, and whose disease has progressed despite one or more prior lines of systemic therapy.
About 17,650 new esophageal cancer cases will be diagnosed this year in the United States, the American Cancer Society estimates. Typically, patients with the advanced form of the disease have limited treatment options.
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