# KEYNOTE-204

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/keynote-204/  
OnCo record `keynote-204` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In KEYNOTE-204, PD-1 blockade beat the CD30 ADC head to head in relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma.

## Summary

KEYNOTE-204, trial NCT02684292 sponsored by Merck and published in Lancet Oncology in 2021, showed that PD-1 blockade with pembrolizumab beats the CD30 antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin head to head in relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. It randomised 304 patients and met its primary progression-free survival endpoint with a clear advantage, leading to approval in October 2020 for relapse after at least one line in adults and at least two in children. OnCo links it to Hodgkin lymphoma, pembrolizumab and brentuximab vedotin. Whether the two drugs are better used in sequence or in combination, and which should come first, is the open question.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: positive
- Last checked: 2026-09-07
- Registry id: NCT02684292
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma: pembrolizumab vs brentuximab vedotin
- Sponsor: Merck
- Enrolled: 304
- Result: PFS 13.2 vs 8.3 months, HR 0.65.
- Outcomes: Progression-free survival (median): Pembrolizumab 13.2 months vs Brentuximab vedotin 8.3 months, HR 0.65

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02684292: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02684292

## Connected records

- cancers: [Hodgkin lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hodgkin-lymphoma/), [Relapsed and refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/relapsed-refractory-hodgkin-lymphoma/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- drugs: [Brentuximab vedotin](https://onco.cc/drugs/brentuximab-vedotin/), [Pembrolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/pembrolizumab/)
- companies: [Merck & Co. (MSD)](https://onco.cc/companies/merck/)
- key papers: [KEYNOTE-204: pembrolizumab versus brentuximab vedotin in relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-keynote-204-pembrolizumab-vs-brentuximab-rr-hodgkin-lancet-oncol-2021/)

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