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Are there circumstances where you would recommend every 6 week dosing schedule for pembrolizumab monotherapy?
I am considering every 6 week pembrolizumab dosing in patients >70 years old in whom I want to reduce clinic visits for, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This schedule was approved in Europe based on modeling/simulation (https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.2018.36.15_suppl.3062), but the FDA rejected the every 6 week dosing in February 2020.
Answer from: Medical Oncologist at Academic Institution
FDA approval for q 6 week dosing of pembrolizumab is awaited but has yet to occur; this would represent a welcome change for our patients, as just happened with the recent approval of q 4 week dosing of atezolizumab.
Without FDA approval we are not using pembrolizumab 6 week dosing at this time, an...
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Answer from: Medical Oncologist at Community Practice
Based on exposure-response evaluation using modeling and simulation data (ASCO 2018), I feel comfortable spacing out treatment to every 6 weeks in the current COVID crisis, particularly in elderly patients who have been on the agent for a while with excellent response and minimal disease burden.
Ho...
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Medical Oncologist at Horizon Oncology Ctr
FDA Approves Merck’s KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab...
FDA Approves Merck’s KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab...
Medical Oncologist at Kaiser Permanente
Has anyone noticed increased toxicity rates since ...
Has anyone noticed increased toxicity rates since ...
Answer from: Medical Oncologist at Academic Institution
I still favor 3-weekly pembrolizumab in the following situations:
1. During the induction of chemo-immunotherapy.
2. In maintenance phase with pemetrexed-pembrolizumab combination for adenocarcinoma.
3. When there is a concern of toxicity and I need to follow closely.
6-weekly 400 mg pem...