Keytruda

Extracted Attributes

• Brand Name

  Keytruda

• Drug Class

  Immune checkpoint inhibitor

• Generic Name

  pembrolizumab

• Product Type

  Pharmaceutical product

• Active Substance

  pembrolizumab

• Common Side Effects

  fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, decreased appetite, itchy skin, diarrhea, nausea, rash, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, constipation, pain, abdominal pain

• Mechanism of Action

  Blocks programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor on lymphocytes, enabling immune system to destroy cancer cells

• Administration Route

  Slow intravenous injection

• WHO Essential Medicines List

  Yes

Timeline

• Approved for medical use in the United States. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2014-09-04

• Surpassed by Eli Lilly's Tirzepatide as the world's top-selling drug in the second quarter (estimated end of Q2 2023). (Source: Related Documents)

  2023-06-30

• Fixed-dose combination of pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa, branded as Keytruda Qlex, approved for medical use in the United States. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-09-01

Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, is a humanized antibody, more specifically a PD-1 inhibitor, used in cancer immunotherapy to treat many types of cancer. It is administered by slow intravenous injection. Common side effects include fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, decreased appetite, itchy skin, diarrhea, nausea, rash, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, constipation, pain, and abdominal pain. It is an IgG4 isotype antibody that blocks a protective mechanism of cancer cells, allowing the immune system to destroy them. It targets the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor of lymphocytes. Pembrolizumab was approved for medical use in the United States in 2014. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. A fixed-dose combination of pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa, (Keytruda Qlex) was approved for medical use in the Unites States in September 2025.

Web Search Results

• About KEYTRUDA - Cancer Immunotherapy in New Zealand

  # About KEYTRUDA KEYTRUDA is a medication that contains the active substance pembrolizumab. It is prescribed by doctors to treat patients with certain types of cancers. The information on this website should be discussed with your healthcare professional and does not replace their advice. ## What is KEYTRUDA used for? Expand each cancer type below and click on “Learn more” to learn about some of the types of cancers KEYTRUDA may be used to treat. [...] Click here to learn more #### Click here to learn more #### Click here to learn more #### Click here to learn more #### Click here to learn more ### How KEYTRUDA works KEYTRUDA is a type of cancer treatment called an immunotherapy. KEYTRUDA helps your immune system do what it is designed to do: find and fight cancer. [...] KEYTRUDA is funded to treat certain patients with the following cancers: melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, MSI-H or dMMR colorectal cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma and classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Patients must meet specific criteria to qualify for funding. If KEYTRUDA is not funded for your particular cancer, you will need to pay the full cost of the medicine and its administration.

• [PDF] Medication Guide - Merck.com

  KEYTRUDA is a prescription medicine used to treat: • a kind of skin cancer called melanoma. KEYTRUDA may be used: o when your melanoma has spread or cannot be removed by surgery (advanced melanoma), or o in adults and children 12 years of age and older with Stage IIB, Stage IIC, or Stage III melanoma, to help prevent melanoma from coming back after it and lymph nodes that contain cancer have been removed by surgery. [...] MEDICATION GUIDE KEYTRUDA® (key-true-duh) (pembrolizumab) injection What is the most important information I should know about KEYTRUDA? KEYTRUDA is a medicine that may treat certain cancers by working with your immune system. KEYTRUDA can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in any area of your body and can affect the way they work. [...] KEYTRUDA can cause serious side effects. See “What is the most important information I should know about KEYTRUDA?” Common side effects of KEYTRUDA when used alone include: feeling tired, pain, including pain in muscles, rash, diarrhea, fever, cough, decreased appetite, itching, shortness of breath, constipation, bones or joints and stomach-area (abdominal) pain, nausea, and low levels of thyroid hormone.

• KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) - Official Site

  KEYTRUDA is a medicine that may treat certain cancers by working with your immune system. KEYTRUDA can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in any area of your body and can affect the way they work. These problems can sometimes become severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. You can have more than one of these problems at the same time. These problems may happen any time during treatment or even after your treatment has ended. [...] KEYTRUDA is a medicine that may treat certain cancers by working with your immune system. KEYTRUDA can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in any area of your body and can affect the way they work. These problems can sometimes become severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. You can have more than one of these problems at the same time. These problems may happen any time during treatment or even after your treatment has ended. [...] ### Talk to your doctor about a different way to receive your immunotherapy Explore another choice KEYTRUDA is a prescription medicine used to treat:

• Definition of Keytruda - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms

  A drug that binds to the protein PD-1 to help immune cells kill cancer cells better and is used to treat many different types of cancer. These include cancers that express the protein PD-L1, that have certain mutations (changes) in genes involved in DNA repair, or that have a high number of tumor mutations. Keytruda is used alone or with other drugs to treat certain types of biliary tract cancer (including bile duct cancer and gallbladder cancer), breast cancer, cervical cancer, classic Hodgkin [...] and other solid tumors. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Keytruda may block PD-1 and help the immune system kill cancer cells. It is a type of monoclonal antibody and a type of immune checkpoint inhibitor. Also called pembrolizumab.

• Keytruda | European Medicines Agency (EMA) - Europa.eu

  Oesophageal carcinoma Keytruda, in combination with platinum and fluoropyrimidine based chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic carcinoma of the oesophagus in adults whose tumours express PD L1 with a CPS ≥ 10. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) [...] Keytruda, in combination with lenvatinib, is indicated for the first line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma in adults. Keytruda as monotherapy is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adults with renal cell carcinoma at increased risk of recurrence following nephrectomy, or following nephrectomy and resection of metastatic lesions (for selection criteria, please see section 5.1). Microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) cancers [...] Keytruda, in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of metastatic non squamous non small cell lung carcinoma in adults whose tumours have no EGFR or ALK positive mutations. Keytruda, in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or nab paclitaxel, is indicated for the first line treatment of metastatic squamous non small cell lung carcinoma in adults.

• Instance Of

  Q169336