Dr. Grothey on the KEYNOTE-177 Trial in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC

Axel Grothey, MD, medical oncologist and director of Gastrointestinal Cancer Research at West Cancer Center and Research Institute, provides an overview of the KEYNOTE-177 trial in patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) and mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

The KEYNOTE-177 trial was a randomized study examining the use of first-line pembrolizumab (Keytruda) versus chemotherapy—specifically investigator's choice of doublet chemotherapy with or without a biologic agent—in patients with MSI-H/dMMR mCRC, Grothey explains. This patient subgroup is rare, comprising only about 4%to5% of allCRCs, according to Grothey. However, once identified, this patient population haseffective treatment options through the addition of immunotherapy.

In the trial, which comprised 307 patients, data showed thatpembrolizumabled tomarked improvementsin progression-free survivalover chemotherapy, Grothey concluded.