Health Canada approves Keytruda as first-line treatment for metastatic or unresectable recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Merck Inc., announced that Health Canada has approved Keytruda (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, for the first-line treatment of metastatic or unresectable recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) as monotherapy, in adult patients whose tumours have PDL1 expression [Combined Positive Score (CPS) greater than 1] as determined by a validated test. Health Canada also approved Keytruda for the first-line treatment of metastatic or unresectable recurrent HNSCC in combination with platinum and fluorouracil (FU) chemotherapy, in adult patients. Head and neck cancers describe different tumors that develop in or around the throat, larynx, nose, sinuses and mouth. More than 90% of head and neck cancers begin in the squamous cells that line the moist, mucosal surfaces lining the mouth, nose and throat. The five-year relative survival rate for all stages of HNSCC is approximately 66% and the Canadian Cancer Society predicts that more than 6,550 Canadians will develop HNSCC in 2020 and 1,900 will die from it.