Dr. Chu on the Impact of the KEYNOTE-177 Trial in mCRC

Edward Chu, MD, MMS, director, National Cancer Institute-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center, vice president for cancer medicine, Montefiore Medicine, professor of medicine and molecular pharmacology, Albert Einstein Cancer Center, discusses the impact of the phase 3 MK-3475-177/KEYNOTE-177 trial in ​metastatic colorectal cancer (​mCRC). 

KEYNOTE-177 randomized patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) stage IV CRC to receive frontline pembrolizumab (Keytruda) or ​investigator's choice of standard​-of-care chemotherapy, says Chu. 

Notably, prior to this trial, pembrolizumab was only approved to treat patients with CRC who have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options or with MSI-H or dMMR CRC that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan, Chu explains. 

On June 29, 2020, based on results from the KEYNOTE-177 study, pembrolizumab received FDA approval as a first-line therapy for patients with unresectable or metastatic MSI-H or dMMR CRC, Chu concludes.