Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as supportive treatment for melanoma
In 2019, the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG, Germany) looked into whether adjuvant (supportive) treatment with pembrolizumab (trade name: Keytruda) has any advantages or disadvantages when compared with watchful waiting for people who have had surgery to remove a melanoma and its lymph node metastases.
The manufacturer provided one relevant study. One group of participants (514 people) received pembrolizumab, while another group (505 people) received a placebo. All participants had regular examinations and were in good general health at the beginning of the study. The following results were found for this group of people: