Scottish patients first in UK to access new lung cancer treatment

Scottish Medicines Consortium recommends pembrolizumab

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has recommended MSD’s KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) as a monotherapy for adults with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) who are at high risk of recurrence following complete resection and platinum-based chemotherapy.

This recommendation is restricted to adults whose tumours express programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) with a tumour proportion score (TPS) of 0 to 49%.

Adjuvant therapy, which is additional cancer treatment given after the primary treatment to lower the risk of cancer returning, has now been accepted for restrictive use within NHS Scotland.

This means more patients in Scotland with lung cancer will have access to a treatment that reduces the risk of their cancer returning, leading to more positive treatment outcomes compared to the current standard of care. Scottish patients will be the first in the UK to access this treatment option on the NHS.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in Scotland and the leading cause of cancer-related death. Survival rates are poor, with age-standardised net survival at 36.7% for men and 44.9% for women one year after diagnosis.

Lung cancer is three times more common in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas. Around 80–85% of lung cancers are non-small cell carcinoma, which includes adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma.

Dr Clinton Ali, Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, said, “I welcome and embrace the decision by the SMC to recommend the use of Pembrolizumab in the adjuvant setting in resected NSCLC patients with PD-L1 TPS 0-49% who are at high risk of recurrence following complete resection and platinum-based chemotherapy.”

Stuart Robertson, Head of Devolved Nations, MSD UK, added, “We’re pleased that the Scottish Medicines Consortium has recommended the first adjuvant immunotherapy option for adult patients with NSCLC, with PD-L1 TPS 0-49%, following complete resection and platinum-based chemotherapy. MSD are committed to bringing further treatment options to patients that can improve survival and make a real difference to outcomes for those affected.”

The recommendation was based on data from the PEARLS/KEYNOTE-091 trial, which enrolled 1,177 patients from 196 medical centres in 29 countries.