Pembrolizumab available for more people with Hodgkin lymphoma
Published on: 23 February 2022NICE has expanded access to pembrolizumab on the NHS.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today announced that it is making pembrolizumab available to more people on the NHS.
Pembrolizumab will now be available for treating relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma in adults and children over 3. It is recommended if people have had an autologous stem cell transplant that has not worked or they have had at least 2 previous therapies and an autologous stem cell transplant is not an option. It is not recommended if a person has been treated with brentuximab vedotin.
Pembrolizumab is a type of targeted drug called a checkpoint inhibitor. It blocks a protein that lymphoma cells use to tell your immune system not to attack them. This helps your immune system recognise and get rid of the lymphoma cells.
Published: 23 February 2022