Pembrolizumab After Resection of Stage II Melanoma Reduces Recurrence Risk

Clinical Oncology News, January 2022

In patients with resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma, adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) significantly reduces the risk for disease recurrence, according to a multinational phase 3 trial.

Side effects were deemed manageable, and the researchers reported that quality of life—which was assessed as part of the trial protocol—was maintained.

“Pembrolizumab is an effective therapy for preventing recurrence, and it has a favorable benefit-to-risk profile in patients with high-risk stage II or III disease,” reported Jason J. Luke, MD, FACP, the director of the Cancer Immunotherapeutics Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

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