MSD has announced its anti-PD-1 immunotherapy cancer treatment Keytruda (pembrolizumab) has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (CHL).
Haematologists have welcomed the new use for Keytruda, noting that 13% of patients with this form of lymphoma die within five years of diagnosis.
"Immunotherapy with Keytruda represents a turning point in how we treat patients with cHL who have exhausted other treatment options," said Prof Mark Hertzberg, Head of Department of Clinical Haematology, Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney.
"Pembrolizumab has been shown to provide deep and prolonged remissions in patients with cHL who have failed standard therapies," Hertzberg said.
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