Dr. Yoon on Updated Results of the KEYNOTE-061 Study in Advanced Gastric/GEJ Cancer

Harry H. Yoon, MD, ​associate professor of oncology, consultant, Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Oncology, co-chair, Esophageal/Gastric Cancer Disease Group, Mayo Clinic, discusses the updated results of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-061 trial in advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer.

Prior to the KEYNOTE-061 trial, randomized data suggested that nivolumab (Opdivo) was superior to placebo in patients with previously treated advanced gastric/GEJ cancer, says Yoon. However, data also showed that PD-L1 inhibitors did not outperform chemotherapy as third-line treatment. 

The KEYNOTE-061 study randomized previously treated patients with PD-L1–positive advanced gastric/GEJ cancer to receive pembrolizumab (Keytruda) or paclitaxel in the second-line setting, Yoon explains. The long-term findings showed that pembrolizumab elicited a shorter progression-free survival and similar overall survival compared with chemotherapy. 

Further research is needed to determine why the PFS was shorter but the OS was sustained, Yoon concludes.