Dr. Brahmer Discusses Frontline Single-Agent Pembrolizumab in Lung Cancer

Julie R. Brahmer, MD, associate professor of oncology, co-director of the Upper Aerodigestive Department, Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in the first-line treatment of non—small cell lung cancer during the 5th Annual Miami Lung Cancer Conference.

The first-line treatment of non—small cell lung cancer has changed dramatically in the past year and a half, Brahmer says. Patients with high PD-L1 expression now have the opportunity to receive pembrolizumab as a single-agent treatment.

The KEYNOTE-024 study randomized patients without EGFR or ALK rearrangements to receive pembrolizumab or standard platinum-containing chemotherapy. Based on data seen over the past year, patients who received single-agent pembrolizumab upfront had a significant improvement in overall survival and progression-free survival. Brahmer highly recommends testing for PD-L1 status prior to starting therapy, and offering single-agent pembrolizumab if the patient has high PD-L1 expression.