New biomarker vital in immunotherapy for lung cancer

IN the Philippines, lung cancer is the second top fatal malignancy in terms of incidence and mortality. The good news is that recent developments in cancer treatments have spelled a viable alternative to chemotherapy, which brings attendant side effects such as nausea and weakness, and provides a slim margin of patient survival against the disease.

MSD in the Philippines has recently launched in the local market a long-awaited pioneering treatment against malignancies now being utilized worldwide, called targeted immunotherapy, effects and improves patient survival against the disease based on numerous clinical studies.

A particular immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab, is now in - cancer with high expression of a particular cell protein called PD-L1.

Given the nature of specialized treatment of targeted immuno use relies heavily on screening for such particular proteins or biomarkers, which are biological substances that indicate whether certain processes in the body are normal or abnormal. Understanding the presence of biomarkers help doctors predict the body’s response to certain treatments.

Thus, MSD in the Philippines has also embarked on an advocacy to support healthcare initiatives that seek to improve lung cancer screening and diagnosis in the country.

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