FDA OKs Merck's Keytruda for head and neck cancer

June 11, 2019

Merck announced that its cancer drug Keytruda has been approved to treat a type of head and neck cancer by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

According to Merck, Keytruda can now be used as a monotherapy and in combination with a common chemotherapy regimen, to treat previously untreated patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The approval is based on a late-stage trial in which Keytruda showed a significant improvement in overall survival in cancer patients.

Keytruda was first approved for advanced melanoma in 2014.

Read the Reuters report.