The checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) offers patients with advanced head and neck cancers longer survival time, according to a new global study led by Yale Cancer Center (YCC). The data was published today in the journal The Lancet.
The findings show overall survival was significantly improved through a phase 3 study for participants with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancers, compared to the standard therapy.
This research demonstrates that use of this checkpoint inhibitor, with or without chemotherapy, should be the first drug used for these types of cancers. This is a very positive advance in treatment for our patients.”
Barbara Burtness, M.D.
Read the rest of this article online and download the study in PDF.