Immunotherapy Drug Shows Promise for Melanoma, Lung Cancer

Source: The Scientist, June 2018

At the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago this week, pharmaceutical company Merck presented results that support expanding uses for pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy drug for cancer. One study, presented today (June 4), showed success in treating advanced melanoma, while another reported yesterday revealed progress in the treatment of lung cancer.

“The era in which chemotherapy is the only option for non-small cell lung cancer patients is drawing to a close,” John Heymach, an oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer center who was not involved in the trial, tells Reuters.

Manufactured by Merck, Keytruda is already approved for a slew of cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSLC) and melanoma. Keytruda interferes in a pathway that helps protect cancer cells from immune action and boosts the body’s natural immune response.