Adjuvant pembrolizumab with or without standard adjuvant treatment is in clinical development for the treatment of early-stage operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after resection. NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer. Early-stage lung cancer is typically treated with surgery to remove either part of or the whole of the lung, with adjuvant (additional treatment given after the primary treatment) chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Treatment with immunotherapy after surgery may provide better long-term survival prospects for patients with early-stage operable NSCLC.
Pembrolizumab is an immunotherapy drug administered by intravenous infusion. It works by improving the activity of white blood cells (T-cells) by blocking a protein, PD-L1, thereby increasing the ability of the immune system to kill cancer cells. If licensed, with or without standard adjuvant treatment, pembrolizumab will offer an additional treatment option for patients with early-stage, operable NSCLC who currently have few well tolerated and effective therapies available.