The US FDA has recently approved Pembrolizumab for patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma for treatment of adult and pediatric patients. The accelerated approval for Pembrolizumab by the US FDA as a treatment for adult and pediatric patients with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) was based on the findings of the phase II clinical trial. The clinical trial results showed that Pembrolizumab produced an overall response rate of 56% and a complete response rate of 24% in patients who did not previously receive any systemic therapy for their advanced disease.
The clinical trial conducted was a multicenter, single-arm, open-label trial where 50 patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic MCC were included. The patients were enrolled between the period January 2015 and May 2017, they received pembrolizumab at 2 mg/kg every 3 weeks, who did…
