ESMO: Merck's Keytruda, alone and in combo, makes its case for earlier use in head and neck cancer

After batting aside efficacy questions in head and neck cancer, Merck’s Keytruda is back with a new batch of positive data, this time in previously untreated patients.

Monday at the European Society for Medical Oncology annual meeting, the New Jersey drugmaker trumpeted phase 3 data showing its immuno-oncology star cut the risk of death in PD-L1 positive patients by 22% when compared with a standard-of-care regimen known by doctors as “Extreme." And in patients with high levels of the PD-L1 biomarker in their tumors, that number jumped to 39%, Merck said.