Japan approves Keytruda plus Lenvima combination for endometrial cancer treatment

the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan has approved Keytruda plus Lenvima combination to treat endometrial carcinoma.

Keytruda is Merck’s an anti-programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) therapy that hinders the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2.

It increases the ability of the body’s immune system to detect and fight against tumour cells.

Discovered and developed by Eisai, Lenvima is an orally available multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

It inhibits the kinase activities of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors VEGFR1 (FLT1), VEGFR2 (KDR), and VEGFR3 (FLT4).

The combination therapy is indicated for patients with unresectable, advanced, or recurrent endometrial carcinoma that continued to progress after receiving cancer chemotherapy.

The MHLW approval marks the first time for Keytruda plus Lenvima combination to be approved in the country.

Now, the combination treatment is approved in the US, Europe, and Japan to treat certain advanced endometrial carcinoma types.