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WHAT IS KEYTRUDA? AND IS IT AVAILABLE IN THE UK?

Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is an IV immunotherapy that works with a cancer patient's immune system to help them fight the disease.

It does this by blocking PD-L1 on the surface of cancer cells. This takes the brakes off the immune system, setting it free to attack cancer cells.  

Keytruda, developed by Merck, has been approved by the FDA to treat the following cancers:

  • Advanced melanoma
  • Advanced non-small lung
  • Head and neck squamos cell
  • Classical Hodgkin lymphoma
  • Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma
  • Bladder and urinary tract 
  • Advanced stomach
  • Advanced cervical 
  • Those with a 'DNA mismatch repair', which can include breast 

In the US, Keytruda - injected twice a week - can be used in adults or children with any of the above cancers that cannot be surgically removed or have progressed following treatment. 

In June 2018, NHS England announced the drug will be routinely available on the health service for patients with lung cancers that have spread. It can already be dished out for patients with melanoma or Hodgkin lymphoma.

Some patients have also chosen to have the treatment privately.  

Studies show the drug can shrink different types of tumours and boost a patient's response to other treatments.  

But Keytruda can also cause the immune system to attack healthy organs and tissue, which can be life threatening. Complications may include colitis, hepatitis or kidney failure. 

Source: Keytruda.com

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