Pembrolizumab for Ukrainian Armed Forces Service Members: A Humanitarian Treatment Program

The National Cancer Institute, together with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, has launched a humanitarian treatment program using the drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), provided by Merck Sharp & Dohme International Services B.V.

The drug is provided as humanitarian aid for the treatment of malignant tumors in service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who are currently serving or were discharged from military service during martial law — from February 24, 2022, to the present.

Who Can Participate

Eligible Diagnoses

• skin melanoma (stages IIB–IV);
• unresectable or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with PD-L1 expression (TPS ≥ 1%) in the absence of EGFR or ALK gene mutations;
• clear cell renal cell carcinoma (stage IV, first-line or adjuvant therapy after metastasectomy);
• unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR);
• metastatic urothelial carcinoma (stage IV, after GemCis or GemCarb chemotherapy);
• triple-negative breast cancer (stages II–III, perioperative therapy);
• relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma.

Additional Conditions

• satisfactory functional status: ECOG 0–2; 50–100% on the Karnofsky scale;
• no contraindications or comorbid conditions that would preclude the use of PD-1 inhibitors.

What You Need to Do

1. Obtain an electronic or paper referral from your attending physician for a consultation with a surgical oncologist, hematologist, or urologist — depending on the diagnosis. For example, for lymphoma, a referral to a hematologist; for urothelial carcinoma, a referral to a urologist.
2. Schedule an appointment with the relevant specialist at the National Cancer Institute. If booking through the Health24 app or website, select a surgical oncologist, hematologist, or urologist based on your primary tumor.
3. Attend your appointment at the scheduled time with all available medical documentation. The physician will confirm the diagnosis and submit the documents for review by the tumor board.
4. If the tumor board reaches a positive decision, the program participant is invited for further examination and, provided there are no contraindications, for treatment.

Required Documents

Program participants must provide one of the following documents:

• a military ID for enlisted personnel, sergeants, and warrant officers;
• an officer's certificate;
• a military registration document for a service member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• Form 5 (Annex 24 to the Instruction on Records Management in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, clause 2.9.4.3).

How to Register