Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for Melanoma Treatment: How to Obtain the Drug at the National Cancer Institute

Pembrolizumab is a modern immuno-oncology drug used to treat patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma — advanced stages of an aggressive malignant tumor that arises from melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells of the skin.

The drug is widely known under the trade name Keytruda and is manufactured by Merck & Co.

Who Can Receive the Drug

Pembrolizumab is prescribed according to criteria approved by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. These include:

• a confirmed diagnosis of unresectable or metastatic melanoma;
• completion of the necessary examinations and diagnostic tests;
• assessment of the patient's condition on the ECOG scale — a five-point system for evaluating the functional status of a cancer patient, including self-care ability and activity level;
• appropriate laboratory values;
• absence of contraindications;
• compliance with requirements for monitoring treatment efficacy.

Criteria for discontinuing therapy have also been defined:

• failure to meet the prescribing criteria;
• drug intolerance;
• pregnancy or breastfeeding;
• the presence of comorbid conditions incompatible with treatment.

Criteria for prescribing and discontinuing the drug (PDF)

What You Need to Do

1. Obtain an electronic or paper referral from your attending physician for a consultation with a surgical oncologist.
2. Schedule an appointment with one of the surgical oncologists at the National Cancer Institute's Department of Skin Tumors, based on your primary tumor.
3. Attend the consultation at the scheduled time with a complete set of medical documentation. The patient's presence is required.
4. After the physician confirms the diagnosis, the documents are submitted for review by the tumor board.
5. If the tumor board reaches a positive decision, the patient is invited for further examination and, provided there are no contraindications, for treatment.

Further treatment and monitoring will take place under the supervision of oncologists at the National Cancer Institute.

How Treatment Is Administered

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