Esophageal CancerWhich Took Kim Kardashian’s Father and So Many Other LivesFinally Has a New Treatment Option

Based on the results from the two major clinical trials that led to yesterday's approval, specific patients may be able to live longer with their cancer when they take Keytruda. For these specific patients, Keytruda resulted in a 31 percent decrease in their risk of dying from their cancer. In one of the trials, 43 percent of patients taking Keytruda survived for a yearwhich is more than double the percentage of patients who survived a year with chemotherapy. A year might not seem like much, but for an advanced cancer that has few treatment options, 12 months of life can be incredibly valuable.

Esophageal Cancer is a Tough Cancer To Treat

"Historically, patients with advanced esophageal cancer have had limited treatment options, particularly after their disease has progressed," Dr. Jonathan Cheng, vice president of oncology clinical research at Merckthe pharmaceutical company that makes Keytrudasaid in a press release about the new FDA approval.

RELATED: Kim Kardashian Opens Health Center Focused on the Cancer, Honoring Her Beloved Superlawyer Father Who Succumbed to The Disease

Dr. Cheng is right; esophageal cancer is a very difficult diagnosis. For the advanced stages of esophageal cancer, doctors usually turn to conventional chemotherapy. But this chemo is largely used to relieve pain; historically, it hasn't been shown to have long-term benefits. Only 5 percent of all patients with advanced esophageal cancermeaning cancer that has spread beyond the esophagus to other parts of the bodysurvive for 5 years.

Dr. Raja Flores, Chairman of Thoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, previously explained to SurvivorNet that the two biggest causes of esophageal cancer are smoking and acid reflux (heartburn). Over 17,500 people were diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2019, and about 16,000 people died from the disease.

What is Immunotherapy, and How Does Keytruda Work?

Immunotherapy drugs, which allow the body's own immune system to attack cancer cells, have been lauded as miracle drugs since they were first approved to treat melanoma in 2011, and have become a beacon of hope today.

Keytruda, which is a type of immunotherapy drug called a checkpoint inhibitor, works by blocking a "don't attack me" signal on cancer cellsmaking it so that the cancer cells no longer get ignored by the immune system.

RELATED: Immunotherapy For Esophageal Cancer Has It Worked?

"It's a Jedi mind trick that tells the immune system 'move on by ignoring me,'" Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard, a thoracic oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, previously explained to SurvivorNet "If we block that signal, the immune system wakes up, sees the cancer, and attacks."

With Keytruda in particular, this signal is a protein called PD-L1, and it's important, because the "specific group" of esophageal cancer patients that saw the greatest benefit from this drug in the clinical trials were those who had a lot of PD-L1 in their cancer. Accordingly, the FDA approved the drug to treat these patientsthat is, the ones whose esophageal cancer tumors express a certain amount of PD-L1.

Immunotherapy is Expanding

The FDA has been approving these new and promising drugs for a growing list of cancersmaking more patients eligible for their benefits. According to the latest research, the percentage of patients eligible for checkpoint inhibitors has increased to 43 percent since 2011, and the percent of patients who respond to these drugs rose to 12 percent.

"It's not just hype it's here to stay," Dr. Brendon Stiles, Thoracic Surgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian told SurvivorNet in a conversation about the expanded use of immunotherapy. "It's really changed the paradigm."

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

---