User:Mr. Ibrahem/Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab (formerly lambrolizumab, brand name Keytruda) is a medication used in cancer immunotherapy. This includes to treat melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, cervical cancer, and stomach cancer. It is given by slow injection into a vein.

Common side effects include tiredness, musculoskeletal pain, decreased appetite, itchy skin, diarrhea, nausea, rash, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, constipation, and abdominal pain. Other side effects include liver problems and kidney problems. Use during pregnancy or breastfeeding is not recommended. It is an IgG4 isotype humanized antibody that blocks a protective mechanism of cancer cells and thereby, allows 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. In 2017, it was approved for any non removable or metastatic solid tumor with certain genetic anomalies (mismatch repair deficiency or microsatellite instability). It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines as an alternative for nivolumab. In the United Kingdom the typical dose costs 5,260 pounds every three weeks as of 2020. In the United States this amount costs 8,760 USD.