Pembrolizumab yielded durable responses in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma

Dr Paul Nghiem speaks with ecancertv at AACR 2016 about his research to treat MCC, a virally induced cancer, using pembrolizumab.

The Merkel Cell polyoma virus can inhabit human skin, infecting a site in childhood and not become pathogenic until decades later, leading to Dr Nghiem describing the likelihood that its reawakening is caused by immune quiescence in later age.

Reversing this immune suppression with pembrolizumab is reported as an effective treatment, and helps to re-established host immunity as potent even after the age of 65.