The FDA has granted expanded use of Merck’s immunotherapy lung cancer drug Keytruda in combination with Eli Lilly’s chemotherapy drug Alimta, reports Reuters.
Keytruda alone was already approved as an initial, or first-line, therapy for advanced NSCLC in patients whose cancer cells have a high level of the PD-L1 protein the drug targets. The combination allows for treatment regardless of level of PD-L1.
Merck scored a coup last year, when Keytruda extended patient survival in a first-line lung cancer trial, supplanting Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY.N) as the perceived leader in the field. Bristol’s rival drug Opdivo surprisingly failed to show a survival benefit compared with chemotherapy in a similar study.
Both drugs and one from Roche (ROG.S) were already approved for lung cancer once a prior treatment fails or stops working.
Read more at www.reuters.com
I was diagnosed with probable stage III non-small cell lung cancer two months ago, as well as being diagnosed with late-onset cystic fibrosis in 2008. Is Keytruda possibly an option for me?
I have already received info about Keytruda but could find no info concerning accompanying CF.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.