08:49 AM EDT, 04/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Merck ( MRK ) said Friday that Health Canada has approved Keytruda, in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing-chemotherapy, as first-line treatment to treat locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

The company said the approval is based on results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-859 trial, which showed "statistically significant improvement" in survival rates and tumor response compared to chemotherapy alone.