Patients given pembrolizumab for renal cell carcinoma continue to reap the benefits at four years’ follow-up, with researchers reporting a 38% lower risk of death versus placebo.

The interim analysis of the KEYNOTE-564 trial, which included nearly 1000 adults, also points to a 28% higher likelihood of disease-free survival with adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) therapy.

Both the TGA and the US Food and Drug Administration approved the immune checkpoint inhibitor for renal cell carcinoma after the initial two-year study was published in 2021, despite concerns that the survival data were “immature”.

But US oncologists said the latest analysis was “certain to result in a notable increase in clinical use from here on”.