Dr. Joshua M. Bauml on Pembrolizumab Versus Chemo in Head and Neck Cancers

Joshua M. Bauml, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center, discusses the differences between pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and cytotoxic chemotherapies.

There are currently phase III studies evaluating pembrolizumab in head and neck cancer both in combination with in comparison to cytotoxic chemotherapies. The goal of these trials is to move pembrolizumab into an earlier line, said Bauml.

While pembrolizumab has significantly less toxicities than cytotoxic chemotherapies, the key difference between the two therapies is that pembrolizumab produces much more durable responses, said Bauml.