• Thierry André, Kai-Keen Shiu, Tae Won Kim, Benny Vittrup Jensen, Lars Henrik Jensen, Cornelis Punt, Denis Smith, Rocio Garcia-Carbonero, Manuel Benavides, Peter Gibbs, Christelle de la Fouchardiere, Fernando Rivera, Elena Elez, Johanna Bendell, Dung T Le, Takayuki Yoshino, Eric Van Cutsem, Ping Yang, FarooquiMohammed Z HMZHFrom Sorbonne Université and Hôpital Saint Antoine, Paris (T.A.), Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux (D.S.), and Léon Bérard Center, Lyon (C.F.) - all in France; University College Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, London (K.-K.S., Patricia Marinello, Luis A Diaz, and KEYNOTE-177 Investigators.
• From Sorbonne Université and Hôpital Saint Antoine, Paris (T.A.), Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux (D.S.), and Léon Bérard Center, Lyon (C.F.) - all in France; University College Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, London (K.-K.S.); Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, Seoul, South Korea (T.W.K.); Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Herlev (B.V.J.), and University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Vejle (L.H.J.) - both in Denmark; Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (C.P.); Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Imas12, Madrid (R.G.-C.), Hospital Regional Universitario, Malaga (M.B.), Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla, Santander (F.R.), and Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona (E.E.) - all in Spain; Western Health, St. Albans, VIC, Australia (P.G.); Sarah Cannon Research Institute-Tennessee Oncology, Nashville (J.B.); Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore (D.T.L.); National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan (T.Y.); University Hospital Gasthuisberg and KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (E.V.C.); MSD China, Beijing (P.Y.); Merck, Kenilworth, NJ (M.Z.H.F., P.M.); and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (L.A.D.).
• N. Engl. J. Med. 2020 Dec 3; 383 (23): 2207-2218.

BackgroundProgrammed death 1 (PD-1) blockade has clinical benefit in microsatellite-instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch-repair-deficient (dMMR) tumors after previous therapy. The efficacy of PD-1 blockade as compared with chemotherapy as first-line therapy for MSI-H-dMMR advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer is unknown.MethodsIn this phase 3, open-label trial, 307 patients with metastatic MSI-H-dMMR colorectal cancer who had not previously received treatment were randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive pembrolizumab at a dose of 200 mg every 3 weeks or chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil-based therapy with or without bevacizumab or cetuximab) every 2 weeks. Patients receiving chemotherapy could cross over to pembrolizumab therapy after disease progression. The two primary end points were progression-free survival and overall survival.ResultsAt the second interim analysis, after a median follow-up (from randomization to data cutoff) of 32.4 months (range, 24.0 to 48.3), pembrolizumab was superior to chemotherapy with respect to progression-free survival (median, 16.5 vs. 8.2 months; hazard ratio, 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45 to 0.80; P = 0.0002). The estimated restricted mean survival after 24 months of follow-up was 13.7 months (range, 12.0 to 15.4) as compared with 10.8 months (range, 9.4 to 12.2). As of the data cutoff date, 56 patients in the pembrolizumab group and 69 in the chemotherapy group had died. Data on overall survival were still evolving (66% of required events had occurred) and remain blinded until the final analysis. An overall response (complete or partial response), as evaluated with Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), version 1.1, was observed in 43.8% of the patients in the pembrolizumab group and 33.1% in the chemotherapy group. Among patients with an overall response, 83% in the pembrolizumab group, as compared with 35% of patients in the chemotherapy group, had ongoing responses at 24 months. Treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or higher occurred in 22% of the patients in the pembrolizumab group, as compared with 66% (including one patient who died) in the chemotherapy group.ConclusionsPembrolizumab led to significantly longer progression-free survival than chemotherapy when received as first-line therapy for MSI-H-dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, with fewer treatment-related adverse events. (Funded by Merck Sharp and Dohme and by Stand Up to Cancer; KEYNOTE-177 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02563002.).Copyright © 2020 Massachusetts Medical Society.

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