pembrolizumab + chemotherapy

Pembrolizumab + chemotherapy is a combination cancer therapy consisting of pembrolizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor, and cytotoxic chemotherapy agents. Pembrolizumab acts as an immune checkpoint inhibitor by blocking PD-1 on T cells, thereby enhancing the immune system's ability to detect and destroy cancer cells. When combined with various chemotherapeutic regimens (such as platinum-based agents, pemetrexed, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, or others), this combination has demonstrated improved survival outcomes in multiple advanced cancers compared to chemotherapy alone. The combination is FDA-approved for several indications including metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), biliary tract cancer, endometrial carcinoma, cervical cancer (in certain settings), and HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Pembrolizumab was developed by Merck.