Pembrolizumab in Advanced Gastric Cancer Treatment

Kei Muro, MD, of the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital in Nagoya, Japan, discusses phase II and III trials examining pembrolizumab as a treatment option for patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Clinical Pearls:

• A phase II trial examining pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in this space is said to start in the first quarter of 2015. Previous data show that pembrolizumab is a promising antitumor activity with manageable toxicity in patients with advanced gastric cancer (GC).
• The trial will include three cohorts examining pembrolizumab alone in previously treated patients, a combination of pembrolizumab with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil in eligible patients, and pembrolizumab alone in treatment naive patients.
• Two upcoming phase III trials will examine pembrolizumab versus weekly paclitaxel as a second-line treatment for patients with GC, and a pembrolizumab as a​ first-line treatment for patients with advanced GC.