Distant metastasis-free survival with pembrolizumab for resected stage IIB-C melanoma in KEYNOTE-716

Patients with stage IIB or IIC melanoma who undergo surgery alone are at a substantial risk for disease recurrence. The first interim analysis of the multinational phase 3 trial KEYNOTE-716 showed that adjuvant pembrolizumab significantly improved recurrence-free survival versus placebo. The third interim analysis of the study now shows that pembrolizumab also improved distant metastasis-free survival over placebo, and continued reduction in the risk of recurrence with an adverse event profile consistent with previous studies of pembrolizumab.