Dr. Garassino on Updates From the KEYNOTE-189 Trial in NSCLC

Marina Chiara Garassino, MD, professor of Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, The University of Chicago Department of Medicine, discusses updates from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-189 (NCT02578680) trial in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

KEYNOTE-189 evaluated pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus pemetrexed/platinum-based chemotherapy vs pemetrexed/platinum-based chemotherapy alone in previously untreated patients with metastatic NSCLC.

Data presented at the 2022 ESMO Congress showed that at 5 years of follow-up, patients who completed 35 cycles of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy over the course of 2 years experienced durable responses, with 72% of those patients still alive 3 years following the end of treatment, Garassino explains.

The combination was also well tolerated, and investigators did not observe any surprising adverse effects, adding to the feasibility of a 2-year treatment duration, Garassino concludes.