US pharmaceutical giant Merck said that results from two trials have shown that lung cancer patients where cancer has spread to other parts of the body (turned metastatic) when treated with its immunotherapy drug, Pembrolizumab, marketed under the band Keytruda have shown to have doubled the overall survival from 11 months to 22 months.

In a statement released recently, Merck, known as MSD, outside the United States and Canada said that the results of the trials are being presented at the ongoing European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress.

The results from the first trial, KEYNOTE-189 showed that for patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Keytruda plus pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin) combination had a five-year overall survival (OS) rate of 19.4%, compared to 11.3% for chemotherapy alone.

The combination therapy reduced the risk of death by 40%. At five years, it more than doubled the median overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone to 22 months compared to 10.6 months, the statement added.

The results of the second trial, KEYNOTE-407 showed that the five-year overall survival after treatment with Keytruda plus carboplatin-paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel was 18.4% versus 9.7% for chemotherapy alone, Merck said

This combination therapy reduced the risk of death by 29% compared to chemotherapy alone and the median overall survival was 17.2 months for the combination therapy group versus 11.6 months for the chemotherapy alone group.

Keytruda is the first immunotherapy to demonstrate a sustained five-year survival benefit both in combination with chemotherapy and as monotherapy for the first-line treatment of NSCLC, the statement added.

“The overall survival findings from KEYNOTE-189 and KEYNOTE-407 changed the way patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer were treated and established Keytruda plus chemotherapy as a foundational first-line treatment for this devastating disease,” Dr Eliav Barr, senior vice president, head of global clinical development and chief medical officer at Merck Research Laboratories said in a statement.

Pointing out that approximately 70% of the 55 patients in both studies,  who had completed two years of treatment  were alive at five years, Dr Barr added, “Now, with more than five years of follow-up, these studies continue to show impressive survival outcomes and durable responses for patients receiving Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy.”

 “Prior to these landmark studies, lung cancer had a 10% five-year survival rate, one of the lowest of any cancer,” said Dr Marina C. Garassino, professor of medicine, University of Chicago, Haematology /Oncology, and principal investigator for KEYNOTE-189 trial. “

“These results show meaningful improvements in five-year survival for patients receiving KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy and reinforce the important role of these KEYTRUDA-based regimens as standards of care for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer,” she added.